Phases
by Cinma
Summary: Insecurities, jealousy, heartache... all obstacles hindering a future with the love of his life. But she was worth every struggle, and he was going to fight every step of the way. Imprint, Jared and Kim.
1. Night Suprise

_Twilight__ and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer and is no work of mine._

._  
_

**Phases**  
Chapter One**  
**

**

* * *

**

"Kim?"

I looked up at Ms. Ayala, my English teacher, who stared at me expectantly.

"Right," I muttered, my eyes scanning the whiteboard for any possible clues as to what question she had asked. _There!_ Written in sloppy writing was the question, "Who was Juliet?" Huh. Figures, really. The one time I decide that the class reading wasn't worth my time, she calls on me.

"Juliet," I started, struggling for the right words. I thought back to my parents and their marriage, along with the failed relationships of my aunts and uncles—then of Juliet who fell hopelessly in love with Romeo during a brief encounter. "Juliet… was an idiot. No guy is worth giving up everything for."

Ms. Ayala raised a brow, but with a satisfied nod she continued her lecture.

"Overdramatic, much?" whispered Kenny, who rolled his eyes at me.

I elbowed him in the side, earning a chuckle, before turning back to my spiral notebook. Glancing down at the name scribbled in the corner, I sighed before ripping it out and crushing the page in my palm.

There was a sinking feeling in my gut that told me those words would come back to haunt me.

.

_Jared Najera._

_

* * *

_

The bell rang, signaling our lunch break.

Packing up my notebook and pencils, I stuffed them into my messenger bag and slung it over my right shoulder. Kenny waited patiently by the door, eyes roaming over the bulk of students in the hallway as I walked passed him. He quickly followed, falling into step beside me as we headed towards the cafeteria.

"I'm surprised your _Najera Radar _isn't on today," Kenny commented absent-mindedly. He pulled out the chair for me before sitting down, then dug through his own backpack and whipped out his homemade pasta.

"Would you believe me if I said I officially packed the Najera box and stored it away for all of eternity?" He shot me a look. "Of course not," I sighed, unwrapping the grilled cheese I prepared this morning.

"He's been gone for… what, two weeks? That's an awful long time for someone with a cold," Kenny stated, chewing thoughtfully.

I shrugged.

Kenny and I, we've been best friends since eighth grade after an incident in gym. It was "Dodgeball Thursday" and he had been on the opposing team, and I caught the red ball that was intended to end my turn. He was a competitive one, that's for sure. Instantly called me a liar when I told him I caught the ball, because frankly, no one ever caught the "Kenny Ball" and lived.

Long story short—he still hasn't admitted he was wrong even three years later but I gained a best friend so who was I to complain? After that day, we were pretty much inseparable.

"Coming over today?"

"Only if you're going to cook again," I replied, remembering the vegetarian pizza he made last week. My mouth watered involuntarily just thinking about it.

He mock-glared at me, poking my forehead. "Sometimes I wonder if you only like having me around because of my culinary skills."

"You're not THAT great of a cook." It was a lie, obviously. Kenny was amazing in the kitchen, one of his many talents.

"I'm wounded, really." The bell rang, interrupting our playful banter. Kenny stood up, stretching his legs. "Anyways, you have another class so I'll see you later. Bye Kimsey."

"Bye Kenny," I managed to reply, before he entrapped me in a death-grip called a hug.

I heard him laugh as he released his hold on me and headed towards the exit.

* * *

_Das Residence (Kenny's Home)_

_.  
_

"Are you sure you don't need a ride home, sweetie?"

"It's fine, Mrs. Das." I smiled, throwing on my jacket and wrapping my scarf around my neck. Kenny's mother treated me like her own daughter, and I couldn't have been more grateful. With my parents gone all of the time, I spent most of my time at Kenny's place with the exception of weekends. "My house is just a few blocks away."

"Well, if you're sure…" She still seemed skeptical, but she gave me a tight hug and waved. "I'll tell Kenny you've left. Sorry that he fell asleep, poor boy's been studying nonstop these past few weeks."

"I understand," I replied, walking down the steps. "Have a good night, Mrs. Das."

.

.

.

I really hate walking home alone.

Usually Kenny would walk me halfway, but that dimwit fell asleep on me… _again_. I laughed quietly to myself, remembering the look on his face as he completely knocked out after the first few minutes of "Click". Luckily I had my phone on hand, I finally had proof that he talked in his sleep—let him try escaping _that_ one.

I shivered, stuffing my hands in my pocket.

A small shuffling in the woods to my left made me freeze.

'_Just a rabbit… or a rat, or maybe a bear? A big bear? Oh god, please don't kill me.'_

The shuffling noise got closer, and the large silhouette of a man appeared.

"Don't you dare, Ja—"

"I'm telling you, I smelled a bloodsu…" The deep voice came to a halt, and I felt a pair of eyes instantly land on me. "Never mind."

As if on cue, another man appeared from behind the rows of trees, a stern expression on his face. "Didn't I tell you how dangerous it was to be seeking them out on your own? Especially if you phased and accidentally—"

The first person cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sam."

Sam… Sam Uley?

'Sam' looked over at me as if I just magically appeared, then clamped his mouth shut.

"Hi," I managed to say awkwardly, rubbing my hands together for heat. "I'm sorry… for uh, interrupting your—sorry. I'll be on my way."

"Hey, you shouldn't be—" He reached for me, my arm, most likely.

"Jared," Sam suddenly called out, a hint of warning in his voice. "Your hand."

Jared? I looked up at the figure that moved in front of me, and my whole world stopped. Jared was here, Jared was here, Jared was _here_. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I felt my breath hitch.

He was absolutely gorgeous… even more so than before.

Our eyes met, and I lost myself in a hazel abyss.

Jared looked something akin to shocked, then his confused gaze turned calculating—then… understanding? "You…" he started, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kim!"

I tore my eyes away from Jared's, turning around to see Kenny running towards me. "Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked, anger in his voice. "You know how dangerous it is to walk home by yourself at night? I thought we had a deal."

I suddenly felt guilty. "Well you were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you."

"Jeez, Kim." He ruffled my hair and I swore I heard a growl, but Kenny's body blocked my view of the possible source. "Come on, let's get you home."

Kenny, who was oblivious to the two others, finally looked up. "Oh, hello. Is something wrong?"

"We were just patrolling," Sam answered, shooting a quick look at Jared who had remained eerily silent. "You folks have a good night, let's go Jared."

"Good night Sam… Jared," Kenny replied with a smile. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me into the direction of my home. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sam and Jared speaking briefly before heading back into the woods.

"Did you see the size of those two? Amazing."

"Yeah, right?" I replied, attempting to rid of the goosebumps on my arms.

The look that had flashed across his face scared me, and he had been shaking so violently...

I shivered unconsciously.

.

.

.

.

That night I dreamed of wolves.


	2. Her Resolve

**Phases**  
Chapter Two

* * *

The next morning, I woke up with an unsettling feeling.

I had dreamed of Jared… or, I think it was Jared. He seemed different, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The commotion going on downstairs broke my train of thought, my parents' loud voices echoing throughout the house. I instantly remembered that it was my turn to cook breakfast this morning, something I should have done—I craned my neck to glance at my alarm clock—_half an hour ago_.

Mom was going to kill me.

I rushed out of bed and into the bathroom, carrying out my usual morning routine—the dream, Jared, and everything else pushed to the furthest part of my mind.

.

.

It was probably nothing, anyway.

* * *

_A Week Later_

_

* * *

_

_First Period – English_

.

"You'd think he'd be at school by now," Kenny whispered, careful not to catch Ms. Ayala's attention. It wasn't a mystery as to who the _he_ was. "Looked perfectly fine to me, I bet you anything he's hanging with the wrong crowd. Even Paul's been missing."

A few days after my encounter with Jared and Sam in the woods, Paul had stopped showing up to class.

"I don't know, Kenny," I replied quietly, thinking back to the conversation I had all but eavesdropped on between Aileen Lim and Tara Soloman, two girls that were definitely friends of Jared's. "It doesn't make sense… and also, Tara said he might be having problems at home. His dad's been gone lately."

Kenny stared at me.

"Kim, Jared's dad has been gone for as long as anyone can remember."

"Oh," I said lamely, feeling my face flush.

"Besides," Kenny mumbled, quickly glancing down at his book as Ms. Ayala looked over. "The only thing Tara Soloman knows about Jared, is how to get into his pants." He glanced over at me and frowned, muttering a quick "sorry".

"It's fine," I whispered, picking at the corners of my notebook. "Doesn't make it any less true."

Jared Najera was known for a lot of things at the Reservation, but one thing was certain—he wasn't popular among the women because of his vibrant personality. The very thought slightly disgusted me, how he could just sleep around with no attachments, and yet girls still thrived on it. It was one of the things I could say that I disliked about him, not that he would care, but I was proud nonetheless. What I loved most about him, however, was how his skin was a shade lighter than the rest of us, how his nose would crinkle in disgust when he heard something he didn't particularly like, how his hair was a perfect combination of charcoal and chocolate brown, how—dang.

I inwardly sighed, defeated.

If only I could bring myself to find more faults in him, it would make this "crush" thing more bearable.

"Don't worry, Kimsey," Kenny nudged, flashing me a smile. "One day some guy is going to sweep you off your feet, and you won't even remember who Jared Najera is."

I laughed, my mood lightening.

.

.

If only.

* * *

_Third Period – Chemistry_

.

Chemistry.

The only class I ever looked forward to on odd days—

Because I shared it with Jared.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. I was fortunate enough to have English AND Chemistry with him, but he disrupted the class the week before he suddenly stopped showing up, forcing Ms. Ayala to request his removal from her classroom. I almost forgot what class had been like with him here, but I wasn't going to complain.

At least I could concentrate now.

"We'll be learning about significant figures," Mr. Whitley announced, writing the words neatly on the whiteboard with his black expo marker. "Thomas—_yes, you_—has kindly volunteered to pass out the worksheets. They will be due at the end of the period as they are relatively easy to understand. Please raise your hand if you have any questions."

"Great," I muttered sarcastically.

I took an advanced course over the summer for Chemistry, but as luck would have it, my counselor refused to let me take Physics as it wasn't "normal for juniors to take a senior level science course". Writing my name at the top of the purple worksheet, I finished it in record time and had a little over half an hour to spare before class ended.

My eyes drifted towards the empty seat next to me, and my thoughts wandered.

It's been exactly six years since I first laid eyes on Jared Najera, an immediate attraction had formed upon seeing him in the sixth grade. He was short then, lanky even. His charm was noticeable then too, and he was still popular among the female population—a natural flirt and smooth talker from what I've heard. I've had the chance to witness it on various occasions, mainly because he had dated Aileen Lim last year and all three of us had had World History together.

They had dated for exactly six months.

Their break-up was unexpected, too.

Aileen was a natural athlete, one of the best hurdlers on our track team and though she wasn't a genius—she was still bright. Her hair was gorgeous, a beautiful color of blue-black, and she had a body that had all the girls seething with envy. To be frank, she was perfect. It was inevitable that two perfect beings would be attracted to one another.

It really made me doubt myself.

What are the chances that Jared Najera would notice me?

Nada, zip, _none_.

And suddenly, Kenny's earlier comment struck a chord within me.

.

"_One day some guy is going to sweep you off your feet, and you won't even remember who Jared Najera is."_

.

Highly unlikely, but a part of me hoped.

Maybe, if I just let myself live a life that wasn't revolved around Jared.

I'll eventually forget—his face, my feelings, and the butterflies that his smiles brought me.

.

I would be happy… no, I _will_ be happier.

Time was all I needed, a lot of time.

But that was fine with me; I had the rest of my life.

.

.

I nodded to myself, satisfied.

The bell rung, signaling the end of class… along with my new resolve.

* * *

_End of School_

.

I hurried through the crowd of students in the hallway, maneuvering my way quickly towards the location of Kenny's locker. I was brimming with excitement, ready to reveal the good news to my best friend and at the sight of his head sticking out amongst the crowd—I sped up.

"Kim!" He shouted, waving his free hand in greeting, the other occupied by his textbooks.

"Kenny!" I yelled excitedly, ignoring the odd stares from my classmates. "I have good news! I'm officially going to—OOMF!"

Pain.

That was the first thing that registered in my head.

Along with a sickening crack that could only be my nose… or at least, I thought it was my nose.

My face hurt too much to really tell.

"KIM!" It was Kenny, his voice expressing shock… and anger?

.

_Oh god, please don't cry, please don't cry, please don't_—

Shoot.

.

I felt my eyes well up, tears forming at a rapid speed behind my eyelids, threatening to spill.

"Shit, this wasn't how I wanted to start things." It was a voice I couldn't recognize, the ringing in my ears was hard to hear over. I felt a burning hand gently guide me into a sitting position; I hadn't even realized that I had been knocked down flat on my back upon immediate impact. "Kim, are you okay? Kim? _God, I'm so stupid!_"

I heard a snort followed by a chuckle, then a loud yelp as if the offender had been hit—hard. "_Shut the fuck up, Paul, this isn't funny._ Are you oka—"

"Will you stop asking her that?" Definitely Kenny. "She's going to cry! Kim, if you can hear me just nod."

I nodded slowly, pain shooting throughout my face as I did, causing me to whimper. I felt someone groan in agony, then immediately growled in protest as Kenny gently laid his hands over mine. "Kimsey, I need you to move your hands away from your face. I need to see what's wrong, okay?"

I reluctantly complied, letting his soft hands pull my fingers away from my nose. My vision was still blurred by my tears, and my eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. There were three figures standing before me, two tall shadows behind Kenny, whose brows were knitted in worry.

I managed to smile despite the pain, silently assuring him that I was okay.

He exhaled loudly through his nose. He was furious.

The other stranger must have seen my face, because I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"_God, Kim. I'm so sorry!_" He sounded so pained.

I winced, having been slightly jostled by his hurry to crouch down in front of me. "My nose," I managed to croak out, holding back my growing upset, "it hurts."

"I know," Kenny soothed, tucking a finger under my chin to slowly lift my head. "Your nose doesn't look broken, just a little—no, _really_ bruised. Jeez Kim, you're purple all over."

That couldn't be right, I remember hearing a crack.

It was then that I felt a sharp pain in my wrist.

"Kenny," I gasped, suddenly too aware of the growing hurt. "Wrist, broken. _Hurts so much_."

The person that was standing broke out into a roar of laughter.

"_Damn Jared, you managed to break her wrist too!_"

I stiffened, my eyes shifting to the one other body that I had failed to notice next to Kenny.

I could recognize that face anywhere.

.

.

.

Yes, that was certainly Jared Najera.

Looking more miserable than I'd ever seen him in my life.

_This is just too much_, was my last thought before I saw nothing but black.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I honestly appreciate each and every one of you that left positive feedback on this story, and I attempted to return the gratitude by replying to guys individually. Apologies to anyone that I missed! I've created a general outline for this story, and it will roughly be about fourteen chapters long.

That's all I'd like to say... and again, thank you for the encouragement and support!


	3. The Aftermath

**Phases**  
Chapter Three

* * *

"Kimsey…"

_Where am I?_

"Can…hear… Kimsey?"

_Ugh, my face was throbbing._

"Kimsey?"

_Kenny?_

I groaned, hearing someone sigh with relief.

Slowly opening my eyes, I realized that I didn't recognize this place. This wasn't my house, and this certainly was not my couch—I swear I was at school just a few seconds ago. I took in my surroundings, noticing that I was in a rather cozy home, and it smelled like a combination of lavender and… cookies? I turned my head slowly to the right, afraid I'd hurt my face again, and noticed Kenny staring oddly at me.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice disgustingly scratchy.

"Emily and Sam's house, I believe," Kenny replied, gently prodding my face with his fingers. "Paul suggested we bring you to Emily after you blacked out."

"It hurts," I winced, slapping his hand away. "What exactly happened?"

"Emily will tell you the details," he sighed, leaning back into the recliner chair. "They'll be out from the kitchen in a few minutes, but what were you going to tell me? I heard you say something before you got the wind knocked out of you."

They?

I looked over at the room next door, seeing a bunch of shadows hunched over what I could only assume was a table. There was one soft feminine voice amongst all the male voices I heard, and they seemed to be having a discussion in hushed whispers. As if all the memories suddenly came rushing back to me, I felt myself turn rigid—

Jared was there… _here_.

I covered my face in my hands, groaning.

"Kim? Does your face hurt? I'll call Emily over and she can—"

"No," I interrupted, my voice muffled. "Let me wallow in my own humiliation for a second, will you? I can't believe this."

I heard Kenny chuckle, and I moved my hands away to glare at him.

"But what were you going to tell me? You seemed pretty excited."

What?

Oh.

"When I was in chemistry, I had an epiphany… sort of," I began, letting out an awkward laugh. "You know, forget about Jared and live happily ever after. That sort of thing."

I heard the conversations in the other room stop momentarily, then I strained my ear to catch their voices, managing to only hear tidbits of the conversation.

.

"_Jared… need… calm."_

"_Dude…worry…bond, remember?"_

"_She …mean… change…mind."_

.

"Kim?" I looked up at Kenny. "Did you hear me?"

"Huh?"

"I said," he repeated, eyeing me. "Good for you. And it's about time you got some sense knocked into you… _literally_. Though I might have preferred that you hadn't hurt yourself."

"It's not like I planned to crash into a brick wall," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "And that brick wall happened to be the same boy I told myself I would forget… someone out there just hates me."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Am I?" I challenged, earning a smile as Kenny reached over to ruffle my hair.

.

"_Ahem." _

I looked up, noticing a woman—Emily Young. My eyes unconsciously drifted towards her scars, four large lines that marred the side of her face, and it traveled down her neck and disappeared under the cream blouse she was wearing. It wasn't too long ago that my mother had told me about the incident, Emily had gone hiking on a trip with Sam that went terribly wrong. He had been an absolute wreck after that and had done everything he could to make her happy… it made me wonder if that was the reason why they were getting married, because he felt guilty.

But seeing him look at her now, it was something akin to absolute adoration…

I guess he really did love her.

"Kim, right?" Emily asked, smiling though the other half of her face failed to do the same.

I nodded.

"You had a rather nasty fall, but I managed to ease the pain a bit."

"Emily is training to be a nurse," a voice said proudly. It was Sam.

"So what's the damage?" Kenny asked, leaning his arms on his knees. "Her nose appeared fractured from what I could tell."

"No, just bruised. Her wrist on the other hand," she reached down and grabbed my hand, reaching into the first-aid kit on her lap that I hadn't noticed. "Is broken. Fortunately it was a clean break, but you're going to have to wear this brace until it heals. Is that alright, Kim?"

"I don't mind," I said politely, cringing when she touched a tender spot.

"_Be careful."_

Emily hummed to herself, a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips.

"Jared," Sam said sternly, "she knows what she's doing."

I ignored them, along with my pounding heart that I was sure the whole room could hear. Suddenly I was grateful for Emily, who continued on with her task and pretended that I wasn't on the verge of hyperventilating. After wrapping up my hand securely, she had tapped my legs to signal that she was finished.

"Damn, you should've seen it Sam." Paul's voice boomed as he appeared in the living room, mouth full of chips and a liter of soda in his hand. "She was running down the hall, and Jared saw her, then he thought if he got in front of her she'd notice him. But the last second… BAM! Knocked straight into him and fell on her ass, I swear he was going to phas—"

"Paul," Sam warned, shooting him a look. "Can it."

"Why were you running so fast down the hall, anyway?" Jared asked quietly, more to himself than anything.

The room suddenly became tense, and I had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"Well," Emily exhaled, clasping her hands together in her lap. "What's done is done, and we should be thankful that Kim wasn't too injured."

"It's always an off day when she isn't on the brink of death," Kenny laughed.

I punched him in the arm.

"_What?" _Jared asked, looking as if he was attempting to control his anger—though failing miserably.

"It was a joke," I said hurriedly, glaring at Kenny. "I have a habit of accidentally hurting myself."

I glanced at Jared, who seemed to be calming down as he observed my expression.

Most likely determining if I was telling the truth or not.

"So," Sam coughed uncomfortably, "are you and Kenny related?"

"Best friends," Kenny corrected, smiling at me. "Since the eighth grade."

From the corner of my eye I saw Emily and Sam exchange a glance, and Jared… Jared seemed to be distracting himself with a painting on the wall, though his hands were clenched tightly into fists. Feeling as if I was overstaying my welcome, I motioned for Kenny to stand up as I did the same.

"I should probably go," I said, holding my broken wrist against my chest. "My parents… I mean, I have school tomorrow."

"Of course!" Emily replied, standing up before embracing me. "If you have any problems with your wrist just give me a call. Jared has my number."

I silently thanked her, making my way towards the door.

"Bye Sam, Emily… Jared." I waved, walking out of the house—Kenny following close behind me.

"Come back soon!"

* * *

"What a weird day," Kenny muttered, his hand on my lower back slowly guiding me out of their driveway.

"Yeah," I agreed, glancing back at the house.

Emily and Sam were standing behind the screen door, her arms wrapped around his waist as they watched us. Jared must have disappeared somewhere, and my thoughts were confirmed when I heard a door slam shut either inside the house or outside. Kenny must have heard it also, I noticed the way he brought me closer and patted my head affectionately.

"Did you see it?"

I looked up, confused. "See what?"

"The way Jared was acting," Kenny mused, kicking a rock. "He didn't talk much, which is out of character. I don't remember a time when he wasn't running his mouth."

"Maybe he felt bad," I suggested. "How many guys do you know have hurt a girl just by stepping into her path? Besides, it's one of those situations where they don't know what to do—kind of like when a girl cries."

"I guess…"

We walked about ten minutes in silence, and I watched as the sun began to set. It was probably almost six, and my parents wouldn't arrive home until eleven so that was enough time for homework before I had to prepare dinner. Hm, maybe my parents will let me off the hook for a couple of weeks until my wrist fully healed. I honestly didn't want a second trip to Emily's home, it scared me that I felt completely comfortable there.

And then Jared, who I swore to forget.

Didn't make it any easier that my feelings just about rekindled when I saw him again, and he had actually talked to me this time. It was the guilt, I reasoned with myself. He felt bad so now he feels like he should make it up to me.

That was the only plausible answer.

"Just be careful, Kim," Kenny sighed, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"I don't like the way he looked at you," he explained, brows knitting. "He's definitely up to something."

"You're being paranoid," I replied, seeing my house come into view. "Now go home, your mom is probably worried. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm serious, Kim."

"Yeah, yeah," I shrugged, hugging him with one arm before jogging up my driveway. "Don't worry too much, those wrinkles might become permanent."

I saw him roll his eyes before making his way down the path that lead to his house. I turned back to my front door, reaching for the key under the 'Welcome' mat, and I swore I saw a movement to my left.

I froze, standing there before I managed to calm myself down enough to move.

"Nothing, it was nothing," I repeated, sticking the key into the lock before I made my way inside. _Stop being such a coward, Kim._

I slammed the door shut behind me, and made sure to lock the door. I walked towards the window in my living room, peeking through the white curtains. Scanning the spot where I swore I saw the movement, I visibly relaxed when I didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

.

.

Definitely nothing.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! As always, they are greatly appreciated! The story will finally be kicking off in the next few chapters.


	4. A Visitor

**Phases**  
Chapter Four

* * *

I could say that after the whole incident at school my wrist magically healed and didn't hurt anymore—but that would've been a lie. _A big fat one, too. _To be completely honest, my wrist hurt like hell and the painkillers weren't helping in the least. Fortunately for me, it was my left wrist that was broken so I was free to write and do homework as I pleased.

_Unfortunately_ for me, the stinging made it absolutely impossible to concentrate on anything else.

Like now, for example.

.

"Kim, you okay?"

My eyes discreetly slid over to the left, slightly making eye contact with Amanda Lykes. Although I spent most—_or all_—of my time with Kenny, she was the one other person that I'd go to for "girl talk". That was one of the downsides of having a guy as your best friend, certain subjects or discussions were taboo. And I knew for a fact that Kenny would rather gauge his eyes out than hear me bring up tampons or monthly visitors into our conversations. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating… but you know how it is. But good old Amanda, she never let anything slip her attention.

Pity.

"What?" I feigned surprised, bringing attention to my face while I silently maneuvered my injured hand out of her view. "Did you need help?"

Wrong question.

Everyone and their mothers knew that Amanda Lykes was a wiz in math—even if it was something ridiculously difficult as Calculus I.

"No…" she trailed off, looking even more skeptical than she had before. "Is your wrist okay? You've been cringing for the past half hour."

"Why wouldn't it be?" I tried to ease my nervousness by scooting the chair closer to the table, only to shift the brace on my wrist which in turn caused me to wince. I was never any good at lying, but whatever stunt I was trying to pull was ruined—that girl was annoyingly perceptive when she wanted to be.

"_Right_."

Amanda stood up before I could stop her, and quickly made her way towards our math teacher. From where I was sitting, I watched as Amanda motioned towards her own wrist and pointed at me. Her lips were moving too quickly for me to read them, but I felt a chuckle slip as Mr. Hunter's face changed from bored to shocked. Before I knew it, I was dragged unwillingly out of the classroom and towards the nurse's office.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I'm _fine_."

The nurse shot me a look, daring me to move an inch from the bed.

Amanda had left approximately twenty-minutes ago, but not before explaining in great detail about the excruciating pain that my wrist was causing me—ending with a friendly threat about keeping me in confinement or else there would be hell to pay. She really was a beast when needed be. Don't get me wrong, I like Amanda, but her tendency to play the martyr was a thorn in my side.

Especially now, when being in Calculus class was at the top of my priority list.

I may be a straight 'A' student, but those grades did not earn themselves.

And our current lesson on limits made everything infinitely more difficult.

"I have a test next week," I started, feigning sincerity when really I was downright aggravated. "Can I please return to my math class? I'm sure if I leave now, I'll make it in time for the examp—"

"No."

I sighed in exasperation, completely put out.

The nurse who was introduced to me as 'Margaret' closed the curtain, removing my view of the door and her little office next to it. _Where was Kenny, anyway?_ It should be fourth period right now, a U.S History class that I had with—oh wait, never mind. Second period was Calculus, which means I was supposed to be in Chemistry right now… it only started ten minutes ago, so if I could just convince—

.

.

.

.

"Excuse me, young man," I heard Margaret say, her pencil dropping onto the desk. "You aren't permitted to be here unless you've checked in with the front office."

"But I'm only going to be here for a sec—"

The curtain that divided the room rustled.

"Please go back to class," she said sternly, and it seemed that the other person in the room stopped trying to get past her. "We only allow students who have—Hey!"

I heard the nurse shriek in surprise.

"Kim!"

The hanging fabric was pushed hurriedly to the side, revealing the last person I least expected.

.

Jared.

* * *

It took everything I had not to combust right then and there.

Even more effort to keep my face void of any emotion.

.

Next to Jared, Margaret looked _tiny_.

I hadn't realized that he had grown so much…

It was probably the cramped room.

.

"Kim?"

My thoughts were interrupted.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Do you know this kid?" Margaret asked, narrowing her eyes as if I had asked Jared Najera to rescue me. Ridiculous.

I cleared my throat, avoiding Jared's eyes.

"Yes?"

"You realize that this is _not_ a hospital and visitors aren't allowed…" I must have imagined it, but for a brief second Margaret had looked terrified. I reluctantly looked at Jared, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Ten minutes."

She let out a huff and walked away, closing the curtains to give us some privacy.

.

.

.

Silence—utter silence.

I've never felt more uncomfortable in my life than I did in this moment.

"Why are you here?" I blurted out, curiosity getting the better of me.

Jared genuinely looked surprised, before he focused his gaze elsewhere.

"Because I need to know you're okay," he replied quietly, in which I had no idea how to respond. "I walked into class and your seat was empty, and I heard Aileen mention that you went to the nurse's office the period before…"

He didn't have to explain the rest—it was obvious what he did after hearing about my visit to the infirmary.

"That doesn't explain…" I trailed off, changing my mind. "My wrist is okay, it's no big deal… Amanda overreacts. I took Tylenol this morning—two of them, actually. I'm fine, no need to feel sorry."

He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it.

"Yeah," he said, exhaling.

It became silent again, and I watched as his hands fidgeted in his lap.

.

.

Fate was cruel.

The one time that I actually got to converse with Jared Najera, it had to be here.

Under horrible circumstances, too.

I should have just stayed home; everything was getting to be too much.

.

I didn't know how much more I could take before I just—

_I couldn't even say it._

_._

_._

"Kim, I want to—"

The door bursted open, revealing Kenny, looking like he just finished running a marathon—completely out of breath and hair disheveled.

"Explain to me," Kenny breathed, catching his breath, "why I had to find out after three class periods, that my best friend was in the infirmary. I should have been the first, the _first_ to know. You know that I hate—" I coughed, my eyes motioning towards the other occupant in the room.

Kenny stared. "Why are you here?"

I was familiar with Kenny's temper, and having Jared repeat his answer to me wasn't going to help anyone—so I answered instead. "He felt bad, with the… broken wrist and all."

I bit my lip, hoping Kenny wouldn't question it.

"Oh."

He was going to lecture me later, I just knew it.

.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Jared asked rather accusingly.

"Free period," Kenny answered, walking towards the side of the bed to examine my wrist. "I told you not to move it too much."

"It's hard going from using two hands to—_Ow_."

In a blink of an eye, Jared's hand shot out to grasp onto Kenny's wrist—which released its hold on my hand. My expression must have done something to him, for a second later Jared instantly let go of Kenny. I was still too stunned to move or say anything, but even if I had been able to talk, I wouldn't have been able to form the right words.

How did he move so fast?

"Sorry," Jared mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "Thought he was… forget it. I'll talk to you some other time, Kim?"

I nodded, and watched as Jared stared at me with a strange look in his eyes—it reminded me of the look that Kenny had given me after he saw me off to camp two summers ago. I thought better of it though, and looked away as he stuffed his hand in his pockets and walked out of the door. Kenny checked to see if the room was clear before he began muttering various obscenities under his breath, handling my hand with more care.

"What the hell is his problem, anyway?"

* * *

_Kim's House_

.

"I don't normally question your judgment," Kenny started casually, eyes concentrated on the television screen, "but I was serious about being careful around Jared."

I grabbed the remote and lowered the volume.

"It was an accident," I repeated, already tired of the conversation. "And he probably didn't mean to grab your hand like that."

After the "Jared Reaction" at school—Kenny made up the name—both of us had been rather skeptical about him. The spot where he had locked his grip on Kenny had a mark, which had yet to disappear even three hours later. Turns out I wasn't the only one that questioned Jared's impossible speed… neither of us had seen him move, but I was sort of out of it by the painkillers and Kenny had been too distracted with my hand.

Not like we had to watch his every single move… and memories were bound to be blurred, so what really happened must have been blown out of proportion in our minds.

"Sorry would have been enough, he didn't need to play superhero and go through all this trouble," Kenny said sarcastically, still bitter over the fact that Jared had indirectly accused him of hurting me. _"Kim, you should have paid attention to how he said it!" _He had said earlier while we were walking home from school._  
_

"People can be nice," I reasoned. "Not like he offered to be my slave for all of eternity."

"He might as well have with that look on his face."

"Kenny!"

"Whatever," he mumbled, leaning back further into the couch. "I still say he's up to no good."

"Don't be a baby," I teased, earning a jab in the side with his elbow. "I'll be careful."

"Better safe than sorry."

.

.

"Yeah, sure."

_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Chapter turned out shorter than I wanted, but thank you everyone for the feedback!_  
_


	5. Jared Returns

**Phases**  
Chapter Five

* * *

_First Period – English_

.

"Tell me again why we're reading Romeo and Juliet," Kenny muttered, twirling his pen between his fingers. "Shakespeare's dead and so is everyone in that play."

"It's good literature," I replied, eyes glued to the textbook in front of me though I desperately wanted to check the clock. "What time does this class end again?"

"Kim," he drawled, waving his hands in front of my eyes—snapping me out of the small trance I was in. "That's the tenth time you've asked me that question. We get out at 10:17am."

My eyes betrayed me and quickly glanced at the clock.

_9:30am._

We had about forty-five minutes before class ended, and the more time passed, the more disoriented I became. That very clock hanging on the wall would be the death of me, especially because every second that passed was one second closer to seeing Jared.

Chemistry was my next class, and I sat right by him.

"Kim?"

"What?" I asked, facing a concerned Kenny.

"I said," he started slowly, staring at me, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, shooting him a smile though it didn't reach my eyes. "I'm fine."

_9:31am._

.

.

I groaned.

* * *

_Third Period – Chemistry_

.

After first period ended, I rushed out of English and headed to Mr. Whitley's class—momentarily forgetting that I had about seven minutes to spare because of passing period. That was more than enough time to mentally prepare myself. I vaguely remember Kenny trying to talk to me on the way to class, but that was the least of my worries. My heart was pounding erratically in my chest, and when the classroom door came into my line of vision I felt my stomach drop.

What was I supposed to do once he sat down next to me?

What was I supposed to do, _period_.

Yesterday, Jared wanted to talk to me about somet—

.

.

"So I heard Jared's back at school again."

I looked over my shoulder, hearing Tara's voice along with Aileen's answering giggle long before I spotted the two walking leisurely down the hall.

"Yeah, I kind of missed having him around," Aileen answered, pulling her books closer to her chest. "Did you see him with Paul earlier?"

"They've gotten hotter," Tara gushed, fanning herself with her hand. "You two seemed so perfect together."

"You think so?"

I blocked out their voices, trailing after them into the classroom before sliding into my seat. Realization dawned on me—nothing changed. I'd run into Jared by chance, but when it all came down to it… I was still Kim, the Kim he'd failed to notice. And suddenly I hated myself, because I'd unknowingly harbored false hope over something that I could only dream of.

Hadn't I promised myself that I would make an effort to move on?

That wasn't going to change just because Jared decided to talk to me.

_Out of pity, most likely._

Again, my eyes drifted toward the clock above the blackboard—mentally counting down to the meeting that was sure to happen once he waltzed through the door. Depressed and ready to go into my "self-loathing" mode, I buried my head in my arms and sighed.

* * *

It felt like a million years passed before Jared walked into the room, late as usual. Mr. Whitley paid no attention, already accustomed to his tardiness—having any of the Quileute boys show up on time was a lost cause. Everyone knew that they were constantly patrolling the Reservation to keep the community safe.

And it was hardly something you can complain about, even if it meant having any of them show up in the middle of class.

"We're taking notes, Mr. Najera," Mr. Whitley informed, continuing his messy scrawl on the whiteboard. "Glad that something about you managed to stay the same."

Jared said nothing as he pulled his chair out and plopped into the seat.

Strange.

Usually by now he would have retorted with a snarky reply.

.

.

"Kim?"

I looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Do you have a pencil?" he asked, half-smiling.

Right, pencil.

"Yeah, sure." I sighed inwardly, grabbing my pencil case and digging through it. After finding a purple mechanical pencil, I handed it to him without another glance and turned towards the board.

"So…" Jared said, after a minute of silence. "Did you do the homework?"

"We didn't have homework," I replied, tracing my name on the worksheet to avoid making eye contact with him.

"Oh." I heard him shift in his seat. "About the other da—"

"Mr. Najera, I'm sure whatever it is you have to say to Ms. Conweller can wait until after I'm done lecturing," Mr. Whitley said sternly, causing the whole classroom to stare.

My face heated up.

"Sorry," he muttered, though from the corner of my eye Jared didn't look sorry.

He seemed irritated, maybe angry.

I eyed his trembling hands.

_And my favorite pencil was going to be destroyed if I didn't do something._

.

"Jared," I whispered, tapping him with my finger—afraid that I was invading his personal space. "Are you okay?"

He looked over at me and visibly relaxed his tense form, his eyes transfixed on my finger that was still on his arm. Jared turned to me, his eyes instantly locked onto my own. A feeling of warmth passed through me the moment our eyes connected. In that instant, I felt like an invisible force was tugging at my heartstrings—a feeling of comfort, security… and something else I couldn't place. The sensations disappeared within the next second, and I reluctantly tore my eyes away from his as I remembered where I was and who I was staring at.

I scooted away, creating some space between us—embarrassed.

Jared laid his hand on my arm, and the first thing I noticed was how incredibly warm it was compared to mine.

"Kim—"

.

.

.

"JARED!" He recoiled, turning to Aileen who appeared in front of our table. "We've missed you!"

"Yeah, thanks." Jared scratched his head. "Can you wait a minute? I was going to talk to—"

"Jared, my man!" Garrett Walker popped in, knocking Jared lightly in the shoulder. "How've you been?"

Tara Soloman along with Jared's old "group" began to gather around the table, the flurry of voices contributing to the volume in the class. Tara, in her haste to get noticed, bumped into me and caused my textbook to fall onto the floor. Taking that as a signal to leave, I spotted Amanda sitting across the room working on the Chemistry homework. I gathered up my stuff and made my way towards the desk, all the while feeling Jared's eyes on my back.

A part of me slightly hoped that he would walk over to me, but after a while he remained where he was. I figured it was either out of his own politeness or he finally realized that things were better off this way. Whichever it was, I made sure to concentrate on the homework problems—ignoring the searing heat on my arm where Jared had touched me.

* * *

_Lunch_

.

"How was it?" Kenny asked, taking a sip from his soda. "Weird, awkward… or the usual?"

"If the usual consists of him asking me for a pencil, then sure, the usual," I answered sarcastically, shrugging off the small pang of disappointment. "You were right."

"Mhm," Kenny hummed, though I knew he refrained from saying "I told you so" to spare my feelings. "So nothing beyond the pencil borrowing?"

"Well," I said thoughtfully, resting my chin on my hand. "He _did_ try to talk to me, but Aileen interrupted along with the rest of his posse. That was fun. And he touched me—"

Kenny raised a brow.

"… On my arm, of course," I finished quickly.

"The arm? You guys sure are moving fast," Kenny snorted. "Be careful, Kimsey. If his hand wanders to your elbow, I may just have to beat him up."

I chuckled, causing Kenny to smile.

"Don't worry about him any—"

.

.

"Hey."

Kenny and I both looked up, noticing Jared towering above us.

"Hey?" Kenny shot a look at me.

"Can I talk to Kim for a minute?" he asked, his eyes boring into mine.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Kenny replied rudely, crossing his arms.

I kicked him under the table.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, motioning for him to sit down.

Jared looked at Kenny, who sighed rather loudly before he stood up.

"I'll see you later," he promised, patting my head and shooting a suspicious look at Jared before walking off.

.

.

.

"Sorry," Jared blurted, and after seeing my confused expression, he added, "about earlier. I didn't mean for them to talk to me…"

"They're your friends," I stated, and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter."

It was silent for a moment.

"Uh, did you need something or…?" I trailed off, feeling stupid.

"Is your hand okay?"

"What?" He gestured towards my swollen wrist. "Oh, right. It doesn't hurt that much anymore. It'll be a while before I'll be able to take the brace off, but from what Dr. Cullen told me—"

"_What?" _Jared snarled, catching me completely off-guard. "You're visiting that_ lee_—man?"

"Well… yeah. Kenny recommended him."

"That friend of yours is going to lead you to your death," Jared muttered, annoyed. "Stupid."

"Now wait a minute," I said, my anger flaring. "You don't even know him."

"What?" Jared blinked, all aggravation wiped from his expression. "You care about him?"

"He's my best friend," I admitted, looking down. "Of course I do."

Jared's brow furrowed. "A lot?"

"Enough," I said slowly, not knowing where the conversation was going.

For a split second, I saw Jared's eyes harden.

But they softened as soon as he caught my gaze.

"Okay."

.

.

.

"Okay?"

The lunch bell rang.

"The next time you want to visit a doctor, just tell me," Jared said casually, staring at me until I nodded. "Or anything, anything at all. Tell me."

"Why?" I asked him warily.

"We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Because that's the least you could do," I mumbled, not noticing how his smile tightened.

"Yeah." He stared at me for a bit, then hesitantly lifted his hand. I watched him, curious as to what he was up to and he must have taken it as an okay to proceed. Jared lightly brushed the back of his hand against my cheek but I flinched, causing him to frown. "Sorry," he muttered softly, pulling his arm back as if I'd slapped him. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

The frown remained on his face, and he turned around to walk towards the exit.

"Kenny's not that bad," I said suddenly, not sure why I even bothered to tell him. I inwardly reasoned that having Jared and Kenny hate each other didn't sit well with me.

Jared stopped mid-step.

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at me, sending a wave of butterflies coursing through my stomach. "I'm sure he isn't," he assured. "But I don't like the way he looks at you."

.

.

_"Just be careful, Kim," Kenny sighed, breaking the silence._

_"What?"_

_"I don't like the way he looked at you," he explained, brows knitting. "He's definitely up to something."_

.

.

.

It took me a whole five minutes to acknowledge the fact that I had a conversation with Jared Najera, and only two to realize that nothing made sense anymore. For years he failed to notice me, and yet everything changed right after I bumped into him by the woods on my way home. Maybe it was a twist of fate that opened his eyes to me, and I couldn't deny the fact that I liked being near him—_wanted_ to be near him.

With Jared around, it became even more difficult to forget about him.

Because a part of me didn't want to.

* * *

**Author's Note: **It took me a while to figure out how exactly the conversation between Kim and Jared would turn out, but even now, I don't think I'm fully satisfied with it. SORRY IF I WAS REPETITIVE IN THIS CHAPTER! Wrote this around 2:00am and I wasn't in my right state of mind, but I will say that this is the most I've written for any story. Thank you to all my wonderful readers! I miss being able to reply to each review individually but I've been caught up with schoolwork.

I appreciate everyone that takes time to leave a review, your opinions are always welcome!


	6. Some Chemistry

**Phases**  
Chapter Six

* * *

I spent the whole night contemplating on Jared's behavior, trying to figure out exactly _what_ changed. I thought back to the days leading up to our conversation in the cafeteria, the fiasco in the hallway that left me handicapped, that night on my way home—everything that I could think of that would make him _want_ to talk to me, as if the past ten or so years of silence hadn't existed.

Did I suddenly become attractive?

_No, definitely not._

My shampoo was still the same—strawberry scented.

And I've been wearing the same clothes since sophomore year, so my sense of style was out of the question.

.

.

.

I sighed, shutting my locker with a kick of my foot.

"Hey," a voice said, scaring the living hell out of me.

I jerked, turning my body out of reflex, my grip on my textbooks loosening when I recognized who it was. "Hey…" I answered slowly, glancing behind Jared where his friends were watching us. "Um…"

"Can I walk with you to class?" Jared asked casually, awkwardly leaning against the lockers next to mine. "Since it's on the way and everything."

"You have history first period and it's on the other side of the school," I replied suspiciously, realizing how stalkerish I sounded after the words left my mouth. My eyes fell towards my feet, praying to all that was mighty that my humiliation wasn't blatantly displayed on my face.

I heard Jared cough to stifle his chuckle, causing me to look up.

"You know my schedule?" he asked, a tint of teasing in his voice.

The playful smile on his face had me momentarily backtracking, and then his question finally processed.

"No! I just—" I stuttered, my words meshing together into gibberish. "It's not like that!"

Jared was full out chuckling now, no longer tense, more relaxed and comfortable in his posture. "Don't get so worked up," he jested, grabbing my books, lightly bumping his shoulder into mine. "Come on."

Not wanting to look like a dumbstruck idiot, I closed my gaping mouth and followed after him—pretending that everyone in that hallway hadn't stopped what they were doing just to stare at us. Sensing my obvious discomfort, Jared snuck a smile at me, humming softly to a song I couldn't recognize. Not wanting to self-combust with my overflowing emotions, I averted my gaze, fighting the smile that desperately wanted to appear.

I felt slightly guilty for basking in the comfort of Jared's presence, mostly out of Kenny's concern for me, and the rest out of concern for myself.

But being beside Jared like this, it gave me a foreign feeling—albeit a good one.

'_It's just for right now_,' I told myself.

Like Kenny always told me, sometimes breaking rules aren't always a bad thing.

* * *

I don't remember much of what happened throughout English class, my mind was still reeling from the walk to class. If Kenny had noticed anything strange, he hadn't voiced it, but knowing him—he was probably angry.

"_Kimberly Conweller."_

And I was right.

"Yes, dad?" I answered sarcastically, packing up my books.

Taken back by the "dad" response, his eyes revealed a look of outrage, biting his lip in contemplation. I knew he didn't want to prove me right by lecturing me, but the side of him that was extremely concerned eventually won over. Kenny grabbed my arm as we were about to walk out of the classroom door, turning my body around to face him, his hand on my shoulder.

"Kim, seriously," he started, shooting that "look" he saved for crucial moments. "You need to understand that Jared is up to—"

"Hey Kim."

We both looked up at the visitor; Kenny narrowed his eyes and reluctantly removed his hold on my shoulder. Jared smiled, though his eyes hardened and his posture remained rigid.

"I wanted to walk with Kim to our Chemistry class," Jared said carefully, his eyes shifting to Kenny's for a brief second. "If that's fine with her, of course."

I looked down, suddenly shy.

Though not without giving him a slight nod, earning a less strained smile from Jared.

"Can we have a moment?" Kenny asked, irritated. "We're talking."

"Kenny," I warned, put off by his rude behavior.

"It's fine, I'll wait outside," Jared reassured. "Just call me when you're finished."

I gave him a half-hearted smile, though after he left to stand out in the hall I found myself exhaling.

"Okay, Kenny? What's going on?"

Making sure he was out of earshot, Kenny lowered his voice and glanced behind me. "Watch out, Kim. I'm dead serious," he said sternly. "I think he's up to no good. Why else would he start appearing in your life randomly? Don't fall for it."

"Telling me once was enough," I muttered, crossing my arms childishly. "I get that you're worried, but I'm old enough. Isn't this what you trained me for?"

"Kim," Kenny said, frowning.

"Kidding!" I laughed, pinching his arm. "Lighten up, Mr. Das."

"I don't want you getting hurt," he admitted, then proceeded to clear his throat to ease the awkwardness.

If he hadn't looked so serious, I might have laughed.

But the Kenny I knew was easy-going, and it was rare to see him unusually silent all the time and his expression somber. I couldn't help but feel as if his lack of humor lately was my fault, and suddenly I felt myself overwhelmed with guilt. All this time I was being selfish and failed to notice how everything was affecting my best friend.

I felt like a jerk.

"Stop worrying." Kenny was about to protest, but I silenced him. "I'll be careful, but let me… cheat for a while. No harm in that."

"Yeah, until he hurts you."

A big rumble from the hallway startled us, instantly reminding me that Jared was still outside waiting. I cursed under my breath, swinging my bag onto my shoulder and giving Kenny a half-hug with my good arm.

"Sorry! I'll make it up to you!" I called out, running out of the room, waving to Kenny who shook his head smiling.

"Ice cream!" he shouted back.

And in that instant I knew I was forgiven.

.

.

_At least for now._

_

* * *

_

When I rushed out the door, I almost bumped into Jared, who managed to steady me in the nick of time.

"Whoa, I don't want Emily scolding me for hurting you again," he joked, catching my books before it hit the ground. I stretched my hand out, thinking he was going to give them to me, but he piled them up with his notebook and kept on walking. "No can do. Your wrist hasn't healed yet."

"It's getting better," I assured, holding my arm up and slightly rotating it, wincing when I felt a sharp pain. "Kind of."

"Right," he chuckled softly, and then looked contemplative. "What did your friend want to talk to you about?"

"Kenny," I corrected, earning a snort. "He just wanted to talk to me about English homework."

"Is he always serious about school or does he not like me?" Jared asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.

"He likes you!" I blurted out. "He's just… been in a bad mood lately."

_Ugh, bad Kim. _

Jared didn't seem convinced, but he nodded anyway.

"Makes sense."

.

.

.

When we finally reached the classroom—_thank goodness_—everyone was silently reading. Mr. Whitley looked up from his book, giving Jared and I a stern look before we sat down in our seats. Jared pulled out my seat much to my embarrassment, but I silently thanked him and sat down, opening up my notebook to doodle for the next ten minutes of reading time.

Jared, unwilling to let our conversation end during our stroll to class, slid a piece of paper towards me.

.

_Hey._

Peeking up at Mr. Whitley, I scribbled a reply.

Hi. Shouldn't you be reading?

_I don't read._

Can't or won't?

_Har, har. What are you doodling?_

_.  
_

Feeling abashed, I hid the notebook further under my arm, careful not to let Jared see what I've been doodling. Or rather, whose name I've been scribbling. He'd probably become freaked out and stop talking to me altogether—I couldn't take that risk. Careful not to let my eyes give away anything, I wrote a response.

.

Oh, it's just notes.

_Really, now. Didn't know Jared 101 was a class._

_._

I froze._  
_

Upon seeing the look of absolute mortification on my face, Jared laughed, attempting to muffle it with his hand. We both put our head down, pretending to read when Mr. Whitley's head snapped up to pinpoint who was creating the noise. Jared's shoulder occasionally shook with his silent chuckles, and I groaned, feeling my whole face flush. After five minutes passed, I managed to get myself under control by taking deep breaths.

The note softly brushed against my arm, but I ignored it.

I felt the paper hit my arm a few more times before he finally tapped me, forcing me to look down.

_Are you angry? I'm sorry. For laughing._

I shook my head discreetly, still refusing to meet his eyes.

_I don't mind. Promise!_

Finally looking up, I didn't see a trace of disgust on his face.

I hesitantly smiled.

Okay.

I saw a smile tug on the edge of his lips.

_What's your favorite color?_

I breathed a sigh of relief, picking up my pencil to write once more.

.

.

.

Needless to say, Chemistry class passed by fairly quickly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wrote the first half of the chapter a few weeks ago, but I finally, FINALLY found some inspiration to complete the chapter. Did I end it too abruptly? I don't know, I'm pretty satisfied with how Jared and Kim's relationship is progressing. Hopefully Kenny isn't grating on anyone's nerves...

Thank you for your patience!


	7. The Distance

**Phases**  
Chapter Seven

* * *

When Jared and I parted ways after Chemistry class ended, I was looking forward to seeing him the next day when we had class with each other again. In the meantime, I was planning on spending some time with Kenny, updating him on everything that happened so far, whether he liked it or not. But walking into the cafeteria and seeing our usual table bombarded by a bunch of huge hungry guys? Not what I was prepared on seeing.

"Hey Kim!" Jared called out happily, motioning towards the seat right smack dab in the middle between him and a guy I recognized as Embry Call. Across from the two, I could make out Paul, Jacob Black, along with Quil Ateara sitting comfortably on a chair three times too small—shoving mounds of food down their throats—making Kenny and I cringe.

"Kims—"

"I _swear_," I interrupted, sending an apologetic look towards Kenny, "I didn't know."

Despite Jared waiting for me to walk towards him and his group, Kenny stood still, choosing instead to search out other tables that were available. A part of me hoped that Kenny would understand, but if there was one thing I knew about him, it was the fact that he was so darn stubborn.

And what did I expect to happen? For him to just throw all his preconceived misconceptions out the window and accept Jared with open arms?

Hardly.

"Hey, there's a table by the door where Amanda is sitting," he finally spoke, grabbing my arm to steer me in the opposite direction… _away_ from Jared. Unknowingly, my eyes lingered on their table and my feet remained stationary, causing Kenny to let go.

"Kim?"

"I—" It shouldn't have been a difficult decision, but a part of me didn't want to leave, _couldn't_ leave. My gaze worriedly switched between Kenny's apathetic expression and Jared's expectant look, then, as if he could read my mind—Jared swiftly turned around, continuing to eat his lunch as if nothing happened.

Embry glanced at us, his brows crinkling, whispering something to Jared who shrugged and ignored him.

"See? No big deal," Kenny said, triumphant. "Let's go before lunch is over."

Reluctantly, I let him pull me away—attempting to suppress the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

.

.

.

Throughout lunch, while Kenny and Amanda chatted nonstop about a show I wasn't familiar with, I stole small glances at Jared—hoping he'd turn around. Imagine my disappointment when the lunch bell rang, and the table they previously occupied was empty, save for a few crumbs and wrappers.

He never glanced in my direction.

* * *

"Ice cream?"

I looked up, confused. "Huh?"

"You promised me ice cream," Kenny reminded me, then shot me a worried glance. "Or did you forget?"

"Oh." Right. "Where did you want to go?"

School ended half an hour ago, and with the nice weather lately, we decided to walk home rather than calling his mother to pick us up. I was hoping to run into Jared before school ended… to talk, apologize—_something_, but it was as if he disappeared into thin air. Although I hadn't been able to see the expression on his face, I could somehow _feel_ that my refusal to join them had managed to hurt him.

Kenny bluntly told me that Jared was a "big boy" and that I was being ridiculous.

"Anywhere is fine," he replied, happy. "We can try that new place down the—Kim?"

My prayers must have been answered, because Jared was only _a few feet away_.

I don't know what compelled me to do it, but before I could even register what I had done, his name already slipped from my lips and my hand was in the air—calling out to him. The only sign that indicated that he had heard me at all was the pause in conversation between him and Paul, and the slight stiffening in his shoulders.

"Jared?" I said again, biting my lip and feeling Kenny's eyes on me.

Slowly he turned around, but the bright smile I was expecting was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a look of pain flitted across his features, making me feel ten times worse than I already did. Jared took a hesitant step towards me, and then decided against it, shooting a look at Kenny before walking off—his hands shoved deeply into his pockets.

"Don't worry about him," Kenny comforted, wrapping his arm around me and away from Jared's retreating back. "He's an ass."

Correction, _I_ was an ass.

But I didn't bother correcting him—I was sure an argument would ensue about how Jared was used to that kind of behavior, being the "manwhore" that he was, following a lecture about not feeling sorry for myself because I did the _right_ thing.

Right or not, the guilt I felt welling up inside of me was real, and I couldn't help but feel that what I did was all wrong.

* * *

.

Jared decided not to show up for the following week of school, much to my disappointment and Kenny's relief.

I heard from a few students that he was either up to no good with Uley's group again or too exhausted with his patrolling job to bother showing up—but me? I had a feeling that he was doing everything in his power to avoid me, whether it was taking more shifts at night or just ditching school so he wouldn't have to face me.

But what did it matter, anyhow? Both made me miserable.

.

.

.

"Stop sulking."

"I am _not_ sulking," I mumbled beneath my arms, staring blankly at the paper in front of me. "You were right, I was wrong. Now can we please drop it?"

"Kim," Kenny tried again, but I scooted my chair away, bent on ignoring him. "Don't get so worked up over this, it's not worth it. And besides, there are other fishes in the sea."

"I don't date _fish_."

After a few minutes, I heard him sigh next to me—defeated.

A part of me was sorry for being such a… _bitch_ to him, but the other part couldn't help but blame him, for _what_, I didn't know. I was just so angry… and hurt, definitely hurt. I knew that Kenny was happy, happy that I wasn't wasting my time on a lost cause, and that our conversations weren't centered around Jared anymore due to my reluctance to talk about him.

But the past week without Jared was horrible and left me feeling edgier each minute that I didn't see him. Before, when he was absent, I'd feel a small pang of disappointment but this time, that disappointment ran a bit too deep. I felt... incomplete and empty, to the point where I had difficulty eating and sleeping.

I was truly convinced that I had become possessed, because this wasn't _me_.

I endured six years in his presence without any acknowledgment from my unrequited crush—it shouldn't have been any different.

But it was.

.

.

Because he _looked_ at me, and it somehow changed everything.

* * *

.

"I'm not angry," I said for the nth time that day, already tired of the conversation.

"Could've fooled me," Kenny snapped, and I realized that he was at his limit. He sighed dejectedly. "If anything, you made the right choice... not encouraging Jared's advances, anyway."

I stopped shuffling through my locker.

"Advances?"

"It's pretty obvious that he wasn't playing the martyr to get in your good graces," Kenny snorted. "If you asked me, he was trying to get into something else."

"No one asked you," I pointed out rather rudely, instantly irritated. "Jared isn't like that."

"Kim, you and I both know that those rumors didn't start themselves."

"And _you_ should know that people change," I retaliated, resisting the urge to slam my locker shut and storm off. "He's different now, okay? Maybe you haven't noticed it, but _I_ have."

It was silent for a moment.

"Are we really fighting about this?"

"You started it," I grumbled.

For a while, the only sound between the two of us were the slight rustling of my papers and books as I put them into my bag.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Kenny finally said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Hopefully by then I'll have my best friend back."

Typical Kenny, he always had to have the last word.

.

.

I knew that I had absolutely no right to be angry with him, but his words were so condescending and judgmental that it set me off. Kenny may be my best friend, but when it came to Jared—our opinions clashed. While I constantly gave people the benefit of the doubt, Kenny wasn't so easily swayed and had it in his head that people never change.

If anything, I felt sorry that ever since Jared walked into my life—it put a strain on our once "unbreakable" friendship.

But I was too angry to dwell too much on it. Or care.

.

.

.

.

_"I tried."_

._  
_

What is it _this_ time?

Thinking it was Kenny coming back to lecture me some more, I stood up and roughly grabbed my English book from the bottom of my locker, then proceeded to slam it shut. My eyes trailed up towards his face, ready to give him a piece of my mind because _frankly_—this was just _not_ my week.

"Whatever it is you have to say, just—"

My anger dissipated immediately after my eyes locked with chocolate brown.

_Not Kenny.  
_

"I tried," he repeated, more firm this time, expecting me to reply.

I blinked, believing that I was hallucinating.

But as it were, it really _was_ Jared standing before me, looking drained. His hair was disheveled, and it was apparent that the rings under his eyes were due to lack of sleep—and he looked so _pained_, physically and emotionally. I secretly wondered if not being able to see me affected him as badly too, but the very thought seemed ludicrous, so I shook it off.

I made no move to answer him... confused as to what he "tried" to do.

"Do you like him?" Jared abruptly asked, his eyes conflicting with emotions.

_What's he going on about _now_?_

And is his body shaking?

.

"I—" I frowned. Where did he even come from? "Who… Kenny?"

"_Yes, Kenny_," he replied impatiently, then sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Never mind."

Most likely thinking I was verbally challenged, Jared made a move to leave but I grabbed his arm out of reflex.

"Wait," I said, meeting his eyes, then letting go—embarrassed. Might as well get it over with. "You were avoiding me. Did I… do something?"

Jared froze, his trembling immediately coming to a halt.

"Don't blame yourself," he said, looking even more distraught. "I should've…" He sighed. "Yes, I was avoiding you."

Ouch.

Actually hearing it come from his mouth wasn't the greatest feeling, and my expression must have given away the hurt I felt, because Jared looked like he was ready to drown himself.

"No!" he retorted, rubbing his head in frustration. "It's not you, it's—_shit_. I was just… busy. With things."

"Busy," I echoed, my tone flat.

_He had to be kidding me._

And then suddenly, I felt my earlier aggravation return.

Maybe Kenny was right.

Maybe Jared was just playing around with me—poor old Kim who never even looked at any other guy. Too infuriated with myself and the fact that I was so _pathetic_ the past week that he was gone—I felt tears build up, on the verge of spilling.

.

"You know," I said, bitingly, too angry to care that this was_ Jared_ I was talking to, "if you felt sorry for breaking my wrist, you didn't have to pretend to like me."

"But I _do_ like you," he interrupted quickly, the lines of his face etched with distress. "Don't cry. _Please_."

"I'm not going to cry," I replied sharply, sucking in a deep breath. Then his words finally registered. "I… you like me?"

He nodded wordlessly.

"But… you broke my wrist," I said lamely, brows furrowing.

"Purely by accident, I wanted to talk to you."

I stared at him, unconvinced.

"And," I began, testing him, "you avoided me. For a week."

At that, he had no answer.

"Thought so—"

"I was doing you a favor," he confessed, stuffing his hands into his pockets when they began to slightly tremble. "Your… friend didn't like me."

_Huh?_

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I want you to be happy, Kim," Jared answered easily, making my cheeks flush.

"But you don't even know me," I defended, my feelings whirring with emotion.

"That doesn't mean we can't get to know each other," Jared said carefully. "Right?"

I felt a huge weight lifting off of my shoulders. "Right."

"Good," he chuckled, relieved. "This was easier than I thought. Damn, Sam had me all worried for nothing."

"Sam?" I repeated, curious.

Why was he suddenly mentioning Sam?

"Nothing," he said quickly, then glanced over his shoulder where Paul was waiting outside—_how long has he been standing there?_ "This weekend, would you like to come and meet the pac—my friends?"

Definitely not what I was expecting.

"Isn't it a bit..." I paused, contemplating, "_early_ for me to be meeting your friends?"

"Of course not," Jared answered, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. "They're good guys, don't let their size intimidate you. And Emily's been dying to have some girl talk."

Emily? Sam's fiancé?

I only remember briefly meeting her.

"Okay," I agreed, keeping my emotions in check.

"Then, it's a date," Jared confirmed, flashing me a brilliant smile before heading out the front doors where Paul and the rest of the group were waiting. They huddled together instantly, my brow raising in curiosity, before Jared caught my gaze and waved—looking ecstatic.

I smiled.

.

.

In the back of my mind I couldn't help but think that a few days of short conversation hardly entitled me to meet the family and friends, but despite that, my stomach fluttered in anticipation. Having the opportunity to be a part of Jared's world—however little—was enough for me, even if things didn't really make sense at the moment. Or at all.

The only thing that really mattered was the fact that my unrequited crush was no longer unrequited.

_Because Jared Najera _likes_ me._

.

.

.

All the questions I had still lingering and how to break the news to Kenny was the least of my worries.

I would deal with it all later—I was floating on cloud nine.

* * *

**Author's Note:** It took me a while to get into the Kim and Jared mindset, especially with all the odd pairings I've been reading nowadays in the Twilight fandom. Bella and Embry Call, anyone? ... Maybe not_._ Originally I was going to have Kim ditch Kenny, but then realized I preferred this outcome and how things played out.

The next chapter will definitely be in Jared's POV, because I've been itching to write his perspective on the whole imprint thing, and to explain some of the things that Kim wouldn't have known. Thank you so much for waiting!

Hopefully everyone's enjoying (_or will enjoy_) themselves during spring break!


	8. New Perspective

**Phases**  
Chapter Eight

* * *

_It was for the best_, I had reasoned with myself, even though that blinding hatred and jealousy stirring within me was anything but normal. But being able to shift into a werewolf at even the slightest hint of provocation from anything that moved or breathed ruined any chances of me being normal; it was – well, it was complete shit.

And I was a coward.

So maybe the befriend-her-first-and-fall-in-love later approach hadn't worked out too well, seeing as I hadn't taken her best friend into account. I knew about Kenny – of course I did. Paul and I used to bag on him like no tomorrow back in middle school, before freshman year when I started hitting on older girls and creating a reputation for myself.

I inwardly cringed, wondering how much of the rumors made its way to Kimberly's ears.

Well, calling them rumors would be a lie.

Most of it was true, anyhow.

.

.

.

"Hey," Quil said, gesturing towards Kimberly who was standing there awkwardly in the middle of the cafeteria - obviously conflicted. "You okay with that?"

I shrugged. "Not my problem."

"But - "

"_Not_. My. Problem."

They were best friends, it was only right that she choose him - especially since she wasn't aware of our bond. Not yet, anyway. But it didn't help that the Das kid was wearing this arrogant smirk on his lips, making me want to beat him within an inch of his life. If I wanted to get on her good side, I needed to get along with her friend but he was making things unbearably difficult for me.

That first day when I wanted to talk to Kim, I managed to screw everything up and I hadn't even spoken one word to her. Not only did she ram face first into my chest, I also caused her to fall flat on her ass. Breaking her wrist was just icing on the cake. Then _he_ showed up and touched her so caringly, and it took everything I had not to just —

"Jared," Jacob hissed, kicking my leg. "Cool it."

I hadn't realized that I was shaking.

"Right," I muttered, taking a nice, deep breath. "Sorry."

.

.

.

Sam had every single one of us take daily sessions with Emily - breathing exercises that made me feel like a total pansy. Apparently the sessions would help us reign in our anger and learn to control it, but if I had to be honest, the whole thing was pointless and stupid. I let that thought slip once by accident out of anger during a patrol; so consumed with the idea of Kenny and Kim together, I barely missed the arm (leg?) Sam had coming my way.

"Emily is doing you all a favor," he had said sternly. "If you can't learn to control your anger properly, I'll have no choice but to take you off patrol and cage you."

Sam never made it a habit to use his Alpha Command - something I was grateful for - since he understood that it was something we had no choice over when it came to obeying him. And being a werewolf wasn't a life we would have chosen for ourselves, so using his rank as Alpha would've limited even more of our options - something he didn't want.

It didn't stop him from using threats, though.

He eventually learned that "grounding" any of us was useless - our parents hardly had any authority over us, not when it came to the Council and Sam himself. So he began using words like "caging" to sound more intimidating which I found absolutely hilarious.

It was an improved version of grounding, which made escaping more trouble than it was worth. Having your friends being as bulky as you were can be a pain, sometimes. Especially when they feed off your misery and find that being "watchdogs" outside your home while you waste away in your room out of boredom was entertaining.

But being a werewolf had its perks; I was still debating on whether or not Imprinting was one of them.

.

.

.

"_See? No big deal_," I heard Kenny say to Kim, a hint of smugness in his voice. What an ass. "_Let's go before lunch is over_."

* * *

I hadn't meant to ignore her; really, I didn't.

But I was still mulling over the fact that Kimberly - I never used her real name in front of her - chose Kenny, who was somewhat important if they spent every waking minute with each other. Which I hated. The dude was fucking _annoying._ But he was important to her and I on the other hand, wasn't.

_Not yet._

Those two words were getting rather aggravating.

I knew that if by some chance Kimberly and I would get together - there was no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't - it would definitely ruin the relationship she had with Kenny. And I knew that if anything, he would fight like hell for her. Because I would.

I was in love with her - but so was he.

It may not have been apparent to her, but it was clear in the way he'd hover so protectively over her - the way his eyes softened in her presence. It drove me crazy, being so close to her during Chemistry and not being able to touch her - _hold _her.

She was happy with Kenny and above all else, her happiness mattered more than mine.

Who was I to ruin everything out of my own sheer desire to be with her?

So I disappeared.

* * *

"It's been three weeks, man," Quil said, concern lacing his voice. "Are you sure about this? I mean, being away from Claire for a whole day feels like an eternity to me."

"Seriously, Quil," I said bitingly, suddenly angry and irritated and just— "Stop. I'm sick of you and everyone else prying into my business! Just leave it the hell alone."

"Jared, man, I'm just worri - "

"I know!" I yelled, causing everyone in the room to look at me. My mouth just started to move on its own, fueled by the fury that bubbled within me and my longing to see Kimberly. "_Just fuck off!_"

"Jared, chill out," Jacob intervened, having watched the argument from his seat on the sofa. "Quil's worried - we're all worried. Not seeing her, it isn't helping. Your anger isn't helping— do us all a favor and go see her."

"And I'm pretty sick of your whining while we're out patrolling," Paul added, thoroughly pissing me off even more.

"I don't need this," I muttered bitterly, slamming the door on my way out though feeling a bit sorry because it was Emily's home and the impact was strong enough to break the door. Again.

.

.

I felt myself shaking, on the verge of phasing right then and there - but I held it in. Embry and Sam were out patrolling and I didn't need them to start interrogating and lecturing me about how important it is being close to Kimberly and how stupid my decision was. I _knew_, okay? I knew.

The first week was horrible; I'd take detours during my patrols to sit outside her window, waiting until she turned off her lights before I was on my way. I'd silently follow her home from school in order to make sure she was safe, knowing that it was pointless but it gave me a peace of mind. It eventually dawned on me that keeping an eye on Kimberly was affecting me negatively than it was positively because Kenny's constant presence was a slap in the face.

It got to the point where I would force myself away from her - running more patrols and exhausting myself so I couldn't think about her. Or visit her.

My appetite started to dwindle, I became depressed and angry - no one wanted to be around me anymore. And most of all, I was miserable.

I had had enough—I was borderline pathetic.

.

.

.

So fuck Kenny Das and being considerate because hell, I fucking missed her and I needed her.

* * *

"—if you felt sorry for breaking my wrist, you didn't have to pretend to like me."

_God_, she was frustrating. And beautiful.

I couldn't tell her about the Imprinting, or the fact that I was a werewolf - _that_ had to wait for another time. Usually I didn't have much problems with girls - being the smooth-talking extraordinaire that I was - but Kimberly was different, of course she was.

My Kimberly, who looked on the verge of tears. _Shitshitshit._

"But I _do_ like you," I interrupted, panicking. What the hell do I do? "Don't cry. _Please_."

"I'm not going to cry," she said, glaring at me. I tried not to smile when I saw her eyes widen. "I… you like me?"

She is so fucking adorable.

I nodded, though all I wanted to do was grab her and kiss the shit out of her.

.

.

.

The rest of the conversation was a blur; all I could think about was the fact that Kimberly had agreed to a date with me. With _me_. As immature as it was, I wanted to rub it in Kenny's face - punch him in the gut for good measure. She liked me - I wasn't sure how much - but that I was sure.

Kimberly may not have answered my question, but I was too happy at this point to care.

For the first time in weeks, I felt _free_.

* * *

"Are you going to tell her?" Paul asked, lounging on one of Jacob's motorcycles.

"About what?"

Why the hell did Jake ask me to check out his bike? I knew absolutely nothing about cars.

Or motorcycles, for that matter.

"The Imprinting," he snorted. "Still can't believe this whole phenomenon was supposed to be rare, but here you and Quil are, imprinting left and right. God knows Jacob would do anything to imprint on that Isabe - "

"_Bella_," I corrected, wiping the sweat off my brow.

"- lla Swan chick that he's so hung up over."

"Easy," I whispered, keeping an eye out for Jake. "And leave it alone - Jake knows what he's doing."

Paul scoffed, letting the conversation drop.

I admit that Jake was an idiot for falling in love with the leech's girlfriend, and an even bigger idiot for leaking out our secret despite the bullshit about her figuring it out herself. Sam was still a bit bitter about the whole incident, especially when she abandoned Jake when that Edward came back.

Jake's concerns were the least of my worries.

.

.

.

"When is she supposed to come over, again?"

"Kim?"

"Who else?" Paul snapped.

"Jeez," I chuckled, wiping the grease off my hands with a dirty rag. "In a couple of hours."

"It doesn't bother you that the pansy is in love with her?"

"Shut up, Paul." Pansy - that's a new one. "And no, it doesn't."

Complete lie, of course.

Admitting a weakness around Paul was like asking for a verbal beat down.

"Keep your eyes on him," Paul said casually, pretending not to give a shit about me. Cute. "That guy can be pretty manipulative when he wants to be."

"Yeah, yeah. Now can you help me with this or are you going to just stand there?"

.

.

.

Just a couple more hours and I could see Kimberly again - I was ecstatic.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Holy crap, I finally updated. Jared was extremely fun to write, and his dislike for Kenny may be a little harsh but jealousy is your worst enemy. Did snippets of the previous chapters in Jared's POV up until this point — it seems kind of like a filler of sorts? Jared's affections seem a little over the top seeing as he barely knows her, but with Imprinting... you never know.

And I swear that the next time I update it won't be five months later.


	9. Introductions

**Phases**  
Chapter Nine

* * *

It took me approximately one hour, forty-five minutes, and thirty-two seconds to choose the perfect outfit. At least, an outfit that didn't make me look totally ridiculous. But I guess you can never go wrong with a plain navy v-neck and jeans — probably the only thing in my closet that didn't have some type of floral print on it. I would have worn one of my favorite shirts, but I _was_ going to meet all of Jared's friends and family, and the last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself. And him.

But no one can stop me from wearing my lucky socks; I would need it.

Not to mention I couldn't sleep a wink last night because I was so nervous... I probably look like hell. Cancelling plans was out of the question, mainly because I needed his number, and walking up to his house just to decline his offer would have been one huge mess.

And it was just hard to think straight around him. Or sound intelligible.

* * *

_Okay_, I thought to myself, _you can do this_.

If walking up the long road up to his house was this nerve-wracking, I could only imagine how much worse it'd be when I was finally hanging out with him. God, what if I trip on the stairs as I'm walking up his porch and everyone was there to witness it? Or there's this huge hole in my pants that I didn't see on my way out, and they'll secretly laugh about it behind my back. Or even _worse_, I have something stuck in my teeth from the breakfast burrito I ate this morning and—

"I was wondering when you'd appear!"

Oh, crap.

I looked over, cringing inwardly all the while.

The tight knot in my chest loosened a little when I realized it was only Emily.

_Thank God._

"Hey," I said, my voice coming out just a little strangely. I quickly cleared my throat, hoping she hadn't noticed. Or pretended not to notice. Jeez, how embarrassing. Pointing towards Jared's house just down the road, I finally said, "I was just on my way—"

"Oh, he's rarely ever there," Emily commented, noticing the dejected look on my face and quickly said, "He's out in the back. Jake's house; the kids are always hanging out there." She gestured towards the house next door. "I'm baking right now, would you like to help me while you wait?"

"Sure," I answered, earning a smile.

.

.

.

Without realizing it, I had finally relaxed.

* * *

"So," Emily began, stirring the batter for the - chocolate chip, I'm guessing - cookies. "Do you have class with Jared?"

"Um, Chemistry," I replied, rolling the finished batter into small balls onto the cookie sheet. "I _did_ have English with him."

To be honest, I've only made cookies a total of three times throughout my life, and the other two times have been with Kenny. But then again, he had done all the work and I just silently cheered him on. Emily seemed to have noticed my reluctance to help her make the batter, so she assigned me - apparently - the easiest job. Of course, the task was harder than it should be - only being able to use one hand.

"Oh?" She added a few more eggs. "What happened there?"

He messed around and got himself kicked out. That's what happened.

"I actually don't know," I said, feigning nonchalance. "I hadn't noticed until Kenny pointed it out."

It was silent for a moment, but that was all the time Emily needed, apparently.

Was she stirring harder than usual?

"You and Kenny..." she trailed off, not pressing me but leaving it open for answer.

"Best friends," I replied, not looking up. "Since eighth grade. We met over a game of dodgeball which was totally ridiculous cause he accused me of cheating but I'm _not_ a cheater." I chuckled a little bit, thinking back on it. "It's kind of funny, because usually he has this weird way of—" I stopped, realizing that I was starting to ramble. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she smiled, though for some reason it made me feel guilty. "He has this weird way of...?"

"Showing he cares," I finished, grabbing a new roll of foil. "But he's a good guy."

"I could tell he cares a lot about you," she commented lightly, setting the bowl down to turn on the oven. "Have you guys ever—"

"Definitely not," I cut in, feeling myself blush. "It's... it's not like that."

"Of course," Emily agreed, nodding. "Sorry if I seem a bit intrusive! I just love hearing about these things, especially now with Jared having yo—well, with Jared bringing a girl home. Usually they'd just go straight to his room..." Her eyes widened, clearing her throat. "What are your plans for today?"

I knew what she was going to say, but I didn't realize how much it hurt... to hear it.

Or almost hear it.

He _did _have girls spend the night, after all.

"I really have no idea," I confessed, finally feeling my nerves kick in. "I'm supposed to meet the rest of the - uh - group."

"Great!" she said whole-heartedly. "You've helped me make cookies, so I'm sure they'll like you just fine."

Before I could reply, the back door swung open, slamming against the wall.

.

.

.

"_What did I tell you boys about slamming the doors in this house?"_

* * *

I was nervous.

Okay, I was sort-of-on-the-verge-of-hyperventilation nervous.

So when that door opened and the flurry of large bodies swarmed in, I just knew Jared would be among them. Which was why I acted like I hadn't noticed, continuing to separate the globs of cookie batter into nice, clean rolls. I could feel my face burning red, hoping that maybe if I just stick to the wall no one would notice me, and I could slip out success—

"What were you saying earlier, Kim?"

I wanted to hug Emily.

"I, uh," I started quietly, hoping that the guys would pretend I wasn't there. "Never mind."

Great.

I was bound to lose more brain cells just being in Jared's presence.

Was that Paul smothering a laugh?

"Hey! You made it!" I instantly knew it was him, if his arm draping across my shoulder was any indication. If only I could've been like Aileen and said something funny, or at least, feel more at ease. But no, I froze like a complete loser. His arm dropped from my shoulder, the noise level in the room coming to a stop. "Too early?"

"Um, hey," I greeted, forcing myself to look at him - my eyes meeting his. "We were... making cookies."

"Kim's a natural," Emily added, smiling as she deposited the freshly made cookies onto the plate. "I hardly did a thing."

"Yup," I said, rolling my eyes. "Me and my one useful hand."

It was hard not to notice Jared's loud exhale.

"I really am so—"

"Dude," a voice interrupted, "how long are you going to keep apologizing for, you pansy."

"Shut the hell up, Paul," Jared retorted, grabbing a roll of paper towels and tossing it at him.

"It's gotten better, actually," I told him, deciding to leave out my continuous visits with Dr. Cullen. The last thing I needed was him freaking out on me again. Or Kenny. "Two more weeks. With this thing on me, I mean."

"Well," he said eventually, "That's good. Though I'm going to miss seeing that on you." He smiled. "It's kind of cute."

If I wasn't blushing before, I sure was now.

"Get a room!"

"Shut _UP_, Paul!"

.

.

.

"First thing's first," Jared started, grabbing a cookie before steering me towards the living room. "Introductions."

I didn't know why he thought it was necessary to make me stand in front of everyone.

"That's Jake," he said, pointing to a kid lounging in the loveseat. I recognized him from the few encounters I had with him at school; he probably hadn't known who I was until now, but I waved. "Embry is the one in front of the television with the dumb expression, you know Paul, Quil is out with Claire but I'm sure you'll meet him later, Seth and Leah are gone, and... you've met Emily and Sam."

A small round of "Heys" and "How's it going?" echoed throughout the room.

I waved - lamely, of course - and smiled.

"I have a question!" a voice piped up.

Embry.

"No offense, but what do you see in him?" Embry asked, earning a snort from Jake and a snicker from Paul. "I mean, he snores whenever he sleeps and drool—"

"I said I'd introduce her to everyone, not offer a Q&A session," Jared interrupted, steering me out of the house, though not before flipping Embry off. "Thanks for the cookies, Emily!"

And just like that, I was alone with Jared.

* * *

"I was kind of scared you wouldn't show up," Jared confessed, shooting me a smile. "But I'm glad you did."

"Your friends are nice," I said, feeling awkward. "Do you hang out at Emily's a lot? She er, said you were rarely at home."

"Yeah, about that..." he started, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm always patrolling with Sam and Emily's used to the doors opening and closing throughout the night."

"Oh."

"So." Jared turned to me. "What do you feel like doing today?"

"I..." I paused. "I don't know."

We continued walking in silence, Jared having a thoughtful expression on his face.

The area that Jared lived in was so much more different than mine; greener. My house was surrounded by dead grass and a bunch of weeds that no one bothered pulling, not to mention a dirt road that was far from attractive. And that embarrassing trashcan that was always overflowing with paper and wrappers, which always somehow made its way to the front of our house despite how many times we've complained about it.

_I really hope Jared never comes over_, I thought. _I would _die.

His sudden stop had me crashing lightly into his side, though I didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong because he was grabbing my hand, breaking into a run towards the forest.

"I just had the _perfect_ idea," Jared said, excited.

My first thought was holy crap, Jared was holding my hand, and second, I would be running out of breath pretty soon. Despite that, I felt butterflies.

"Uh, Jared," I said, trying to keep up. "Where are we going?"

He tightened his hold, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

.

.

.

"How do you feel about cliff diving?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Told ya that the next time I updated it wouldn't be five months later! I kept telling myself that I would write the next chapter by today, and I went to sleep last night, mentally writing it in my head. Serious dedication. Thank you - of course - for being so patient with me!


	10. And It Begins

**Phases**  
Chapter Ten

* * *

I stared at Jared, positive that a mixture of disbelief and confusion was planted on my face.

Maybe I hadn't heard him right; did he really ask me to—

"Go _cliff _diving?" I repeated slowly. "Like... we jump. Off _cliffs_."

"Yeah, why not?" he replied, looking past me where I'm sure he wanted us to jump and fall into the ocean. "It'll be freaking awesome; the guys and I do it all the time."

_Did he realize... _"My wrist," I said, holding it up as a reminder. "The doctor told me no strenuous activity, and I'm positive that jumping off a forty-foot ledge is one of them."

"Well," he began rather sheepishly, avoiding my eyes, "_you _don't necessarily have to jump. I could, um, hold you..." He then added quickly, "If that's okay, of course. I mean, I'm sure if you just... curled your hand into your chest then it wouldn't be too bad, right? I'll be taking most of the impact anyway."

I had unknowingly tuned him out after Jared said he would _hold me_.

Did he know how much I weighed? Well, _I_ didn't know how much I weighed but him holding me was... completely out of the question. What if I ended up heavier than he thought? I would slowly but surely die of mortification. Especially if he struggled to keep me in his arms... god. Everything that could go wrong flashed through my mind, and I could feel my insides churn at the thought of it.

Jared must have seen my grimace because his expression fell.

"Ah, never mind. It was a stupid idea," he said, forcing out a chuckle. "It's just that cliff diving really gives you that rush of adrenaline, and I thought we could, you know, do it... together. But it was a dumb idea, I should have thought it through. We can do something else."

"I would love to go cliff diving," I assured quickly - too quickly. "Just... some other time. Like, maybe when I'm not wearing this, uh, thing. Or you know, if we're still—"

I paused, not sure if I should finish the sentence— _could _finish the sentence. But Jared seemed like he knew where my thoughts were headed because in that second he grabbed my good hand, effortlessly making me blush for the nth time that day, and looked straight into my eyes. Usually at this point I would have averted my gaze, especially since I can't maintain eye contact with anyone to save my life, but something kept my eyes glued to his.

"Of course we'll still be friends," he said earnestly. Then his brows furrowed, something I realized that he did often around me. "Unless you don't want to..."

He frowned.

It took me a while to get the hint that that was my cue to reassure him.

"I'll always want to be friends with you," I replied with a little too much enthusiasm. I mentally berated myself for sounding so pathetic.

"Good." He smiled, looking more relieved and less edgy than he did before. "So... no cliff diving, right?"

"Right. For now," I confirmed. "We could always... take a walk? Wait, never mind. You're probably sick of walking."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I mean, you're always patrolling right? I didn't notice any cars so I just assumed..."

"Oh, right. Well you er, get used to it," Jared said, not sounding at all sure of himself. "It gets relaxing after a while, and my pa—friends are always with me."

"That's good," I commented, discreetly trying to pull my hand away from his - not that I didn't like it or anything. Just that his hand was blazing with heat, which in turn made _my_ hand start to sweat... "Do you guys spend a lot of time tog—"

.

I felt Jared stiffen beside me before my mind registered that he had all but grabbed me by my waist and hoisted me into his arms. Still shocked to do anything, I remained still - my mind still grasping onto the fact that Jared had lifted me like it was _nothing_ - and stared at my crush as he basically ran across the field back to Emily's house, _snarling_ while he did so. They were harsh sounds and growls that were rumbling from deep within his chest, sounding animalistic and not at all human, and for the first time—I was _terrified_.

It didn't help that his eyes were everywhere, as if scanning the area for potential attacks despite the fact that he seemed to be going a hundred miles per second (Okay, I was exaggerating - but _still_). Jared's paranoia and the way his nails were slightly digging into my skin signaled that I should be scared absolutely shitless, but his uneasiness overruled my terror and I felt myself wanting to comfort him.

And somehow find it in myself to keep the queasiness at bay so I could at least _ask_ him what was wrong. But as fate would have it, Jared refused to look at me, choosing to keep his attention on every little movement and noise.

So I kept my mouth shut throughout the short trip until we -_ finally_ - reached Emily's.

* * *

When we reached the house, all of his friends were waiting outside on the porch, as if they sensed Jared's distress. He had switched to walking as Emily and Sam's home came into view, but his tight and protective grip on me didn't lessen any. As we finally made our way onto their yard, Jared let out a puff of air through his nose, and looked down at me.

"Kim!" Emily shouted from her front door, waving for me. "Why don't we start on dinner while the boys talk?" She looked at Jared, sending him a look. "Jared?"

He reluctantly let me go, setting me down on my feet, a rush of dizziness passing through me until I managed to stand upright without feeling the least bit intoxicated. I opened my mouth to say something - anything - but the tension in the air forced me to stay silent and follow Emily into her home.

Jared's eyes never left my back until I was safely inside.

.

.

.

.

"So," Emily started, attempting to distract me from the current situation, "what did you two end up doing?"

Too focused on making out the conversation outside, her voice sounded muffled and distant.

I craned my neck, hoping it would somewhat help.

.

.

"_Fuck Sam, she was _there_."_

"_Jared, you need to calm down."_

"_Where did you smell the leech?"_

"_North."_ I heard a growl, instantly recognizing it as Jared's. _"God damn it, I shouldn't have been so distracted. Kim could have—"_

.

.

"Kim?"

"Uh, yes?" I replied, startled. _What were they arguing about?_

"What did you guys end up doing?" Emily asked again, not the least bit annoyed at my lack of attention.

"Oh. Jared suggested cliff diving, but you know..." I trailed off, biting my lip. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to ask the question that had been nagging at me for quite some time. "Emily, what's a leech?"

If I hadn't been staring so intently at her, I wouldn't have noticed the way she froze. Emily then tried to play it off by continuing to stir the large bowl of cracked eggs, taking her time to answer. _If_ she was going to answer.

"I—well..." She paused, contemplating. For a few moments, only the sound of her stirring and the hushed voices outside were all there was. "Maybe you should ask Jared when he comes back."

For some reason, I wasn't particularly satisfied.

"But he's busy," I reasoned, handing her the butter and earning a small thanks in return. "Can't you tell me yourself?"

"It's not my place," she said, her brows knitting together. "I'm positive if there's anything - anything at all - that you want to know, the best person to ask would be Jared."

I didn't want to push Emily for more information, seeing as how she seemed uncomfortable, so I let it drop. But it was strange, what exactly did Jared and the rest of the group _do_? I never questioned it before, satisfied with the fact that they were doing the community a huge favor by protecting us from any type of danger. But there were rarely any crimes on the Reservation, especially since we've all known each other for the majority of our lives.

Any type of robbery or small feud usually only happened when folks from out of town were visiting. Not to mention, they were always rambling about some "leech" that were crossing their territory. If I remembered correctly, Jared had almost let the word slip when he used it to describe Dr. Cullen down in Forks.

It might have been just a derogatory term... but did these certain type of people have a certain stench to them? It really made no sense. Before I could think about it any further, the shrill ringing of the phone snapped me out of my thoughts as I watched Emily drop her spatula to answer it.

"Hello?"

I moved my gaze down to the table, absent-mindedly picking at the crumbs and waiting to ask Emily a few more questions to satisfy my curiosity. I immediately knew something was wrong when I heard her gasp, covering her mouth in shock. At that exact moment, the rest of the group barged into the room, Sam plowing through the large bodies to get to his wife who stood there, a look of absolute despair on her face.

"Em, what is it?" Sam asked, pulling her into his arms.

She looked up at him, reluctantly pulling the phone away from her ear.

.

.

.

.

"Harry Clearwater had a heart attack," she said finally, choking back a sob. "He's in the hospital."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know... short chapter. Extremely short compared to my past ones, but what can you do. I needed a good transition before the plot takes a turn, and writing everything into one would be... too long. I actually had to re-read New Moon because I forgot what happened during this time period, but I think it was a wasted effort because things will be slightly out of order anyway.

But thank you for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!


	11. Moment of Truth

**Phases**  
Chapter Eleven

* * *

_Harry Clearwater? Heart attack?_

I felt my stomach drop.

I had only known the Clearwaters through our residence on the Reservation, but if memory served me right, Harry was a bit young for something as life-threatening as a heart attack. It just didn't make any sense. The last time he had made a quick visit to our school seemed like ages ago, but he had been healthy as ever with a bright smile on his face. But Emily had said he was in the hospital, so surely he must have been okay? Suddenly remembering that I was in the company of Jared and his friends, I snapped out of my thoughts and glanced up.

At that exact moment, the front door slammed open.

"Sam!" It was Jake, his expression stricken with panic. "It's Leah and Seth."

_Harry's kids? _Then I remembered. _They were gone, earlier._

Sam's eyes hardened, his head tilting a fraction, urging him to continue.

"I— I was patrolling," he explained hurriedly, trying to catch his breath. As I took a closer look, I noticed that Jake was completely drained, his hair mussed up and splaying in different directions. "And I heard it. _Them_. I heard them." He took a deep breath. "They're scared, Sam. I tried to calm them but they wouldn't listen - it... it was horrible."

Sam didn't waste a second. "Where are they?"

"Last I could tell, they were by the edge of the woods."

"Got it. Everyone listen up," Sam said, his deep voice echoing throughout the confined room. The response was immediate. I noticed how every single males' posture in the room straightened, their full attention was focused on Sam, a grim expression on each of their faces. "Jake will accompany me to search for Seth and Leah; we're going to try and get those two to phase back. I want Paul and Jared to take over Jake's patrol and find the whereabouts of that bloodsucker." He turned to stare at Embry and Quil. "The rest of you will keep us updated on Harry's condition and do whatever you need to in order to help Sue."

_Bloodsucker? _

My mind was racing with the overload of information.

How could Jake hear Seth and Leah when the woods were a good five miles away from here? And what exactly did Sam mean when he said they were going to try and get the two to _phase_ back? Immediately, my mind made the connection between the words "leech" and "bloodsucker." I had my fair share of fantasy novels while growing up, and the only creature that I knew of that even came close to those two words was—

_Vampire._

I hadn't even realized that I had spoken aloud.

"Fuck," someone said.

And then all eyes were on me.

I felt completely ridiculous for uttering that word, but it seemed that my guess wasn't too far-fetched with how every occupant in the room was staring at me. My thoughts were in a daze, and I could barely register someone's - most likely Jared's - hands that were resting on my shoulder as if to shake some sense into me. But if there were vampires, then what did that make Jared? His friends? And what about Emily? My head was pounding, and I could feel my heart about to burst out of my chest with how quickly it was beating with the rise of my panic.

"Kim?" Sam took a step towards me, causing me to involuntarily flinch. "Are you okay?"

Breathe, I told myself. _Remember to breathe._

"I don't think all that hyperventilating she's doing is healthy."

"_Dude, Paul, can you just shut the hell up?"_

Jared squeezed my shoulder at an attempt to comfort me, but I found myself pushing his hands off of me out of reflex. A part of me felt guilty after seeing that splash of hurt that showed on his face, but the other half couldn't help but cower in fear because these group of guys weren't _normal_.

"Kim? Honey?" Emily called out, my eyes meeting her sympathetic gaze. Was Emily part of them, too? It was hard to believe that someone as gentle and kind could be associated with... whatever it was that they were. "Calm down, Kim. If we could just explain— "

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I turned away from her and _ran_.

The moment I found myself running outside the door, the cold gush of the wind caused goosebumps to form on my skin. I could hear shouts behind me, footsteps that were right on my heel, but I didn't dare spare a glance back. My lungs felt as if they were going to self-combust on the spot, and I found myself wishing that I had been more athletic. I had no set destination; I just knew that I needed to escape from that small confined kitchen filled with a group of boys that I realized I knew absolutely nothing about. Maybe Kenny was right— maybe it was a horrible idea, after all. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

All too soon I felt my foot ram into a rock that was sticking out of the ground, successfully knocking me off my feet, though luckily I managed to soften the impact with my good arm. I skidded across the cool grass, though my relief was cut short when I realized that I had come to a stop in front of a pair of feet. I slowly glanced up, half-expecting to see Jared or one of his friends, only to come face-to-face with the third shock of the day.

A woman.

A hauntingly beautiful woman with hair the color of burning crimson.

.

.

.

"_KIMBERLY!"_

No sooner did I see her gleaming white teeth did I witness an enormously large animal tackle her to the ground, its teeth digging into her flesh like a plush doll. Her scream sent chills throughout my body, and the animalistic growls sounded horribly familiar. Two more of those beast-like creatures followed the first one as I sat there - stunned - with an ache in my body from my pathetic attempt at an escape and the impact from my fall.

And then I fainted.

* * *

"_Do you think she'll wake up soon?"_

_"Give her a little time. It's been a stressful day for her, Jared."_

"_I swear I was going to tell her, but it didn't seem like the—"_

I groaned, my muscles constricting in pain as I moved to sit up.

Before I could evade them, two large arms engulfed me into a tight hug, the owner's face digging into the side of my neck — causing me to stiffen. "Kim, I am _so_ sorry." His voice was muffled, but I knew it was Jared. But even the knowledge that it was Jared holding me so intimately was not comforting. At all.

"Can you... can you please let go of me?" My voice cracked.

Jared froze, though not a second later he released his grip on me, taking a step back. I could tell that he wanted nothing more than to scoop me up in his arms, but he seemed to be restraining himself, choosing to dig his trembling hands into his pocket.

"You took quite a nasty fall there, Kim," Emily said, wiping her hands clean of the blood. _My_ blood. I glanced down at my arms and legs, noticing that they were bandaged tightly. I didn't remember scraping myself when I fell, but I must have been too scared to notice. "You don't need to worry about infection, though. Made sure to clean your wounds thoroughly." She smiled. "I have your jeans running through the washer right now, and once it's done, you can change out of those shorts I lent you."

"Oh," I said, keeping my eyes glued to my lap. "Thank you."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Emily give Jared a look before she moved to the kitchen— most likely continuing the food she was bent on cooking earlier. What time was it, anyway? My parents had to be worried. _If_ they were even home. I thought back to what I'd witness before I freaked out and fainted, though I could only remember seeing a woman with red hair.

And three... _beasts_.

Werewolves— they were _werewolves_.

I distinctly remember two summers ago when Kenny and I researched on mythical creatures during one of our odd "phases" that only the two of us would share. While I had been interested in the existence of mermaids and possible fairies, Kenny had found himself drawn to werewolves. We had spent that entire summer at the library, looking through books and reading about the legends that seem so closely related to the myths told on the Reservation. The idea seemed so ridiculous... the thought of werewolves existing among us.

But I'd spent entire week watching horror movies with Kenny, and I could instantly spot a werewolf when I saw one.

I started hyperventilating all over again.

"You should really calm down," Jared said softly, taking a seat on the table next to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak again.

"Can I explain? Please?" he asked, his voice laced with distress. "I promise, anything you want to ask afterwards, I'll answer. Just - Just don't run again. Don't think my wolf can handle seeing you so close to a leech again."

_Wolf?_

My eyes widened, then snapped up to meet his half-amused and half-pained gaze.

"I'll explain," Jared repeated, giving me a hesitant smile. "Deal?"

I contemplated, my eyes searching his for any hint of deceit.

This was the same Jared, right? The one I'd admired for almost my whole life?

Surely I could... trust him?

I bit my lip, and then—

"Deal."

* * *

**Author's note:** Okay, I wasn't planning on ending the chapter with another cliff-hanger, I swear. Short chapter again, which I profusely apologize for! Everything will be explained in due time, as well as filling little "holes" I idiotically made when I had no clue where I was going with this story. Sorry if Kim seems a little... crazy. If I found out vampires existed - among other things - I would freak the hell out. Currently writing the next chapter as we speak because I am on a roll and my new year's resolution is to finish all of my on-going fics.

Buut, I'm messing with the timeline and combining events from New Moon and Eclipse - in case you were curious. Happy 2012! Please tell me what you think? I love receiving feedback!


	12. Acceptance

**Phases**  
Chapter Twelve

* * *

Crazy metabolism, burning temperature, transforming into wolves…

"So you're… werewolves," I repeated for confirmation, watching as Jared sighed for the nth time. Not necessarily out of frustration, but relief; I think my constant questions were better than an attempt at another failed escapade.

"Not werewolves. Shape-shifters," he corrected.

Right.

_Shape-shifters._

The word itself left a bad taste in my mouth.

But it was definitely not the typical werewolf legends that Kenny and I had heavily researched. I had been skeptical at first, and frightened – definitely frightened, but the more I learned about what Jared was, the less… mysterious it was. I suppose that was where my fear lied, not knowing and being exposed to something so unfamiliar and mystical.

"So no full moons or crazy radioactive venom that transforms you into these…" I trailed off, remembering the word, "shape-shifters?"

Jared chuckled. "Right."

Hm, interesting.

"And your natural enemies are…"

"Bloodsuckers."

"Vampires," I said thoughtfully, my brows furrowing. Jared had explained to me that the woman from earlier was a "bloodsucker" and I had come extremely close to getting the life drained out of me. I really did know how to choose them. "So the other two wolves were Jake and Paul?"

"Yup."

God, this was really all hard to believe. But I had seen everything with my own eyes and I knew for an absolute fact that my imagination wasn't nearly impressive enough to conjure up three huge shape-shifters. I felt like I belonged in an asylum. I was going crazy, I just knew it. There was no way in hell that these beings actually existed; but they did, and I had been in love with one… _am_ in love with one.

My head was still throbbing.

"Do you need some painkillers or anything?" Jared asked suddenly, worried.

"It's fine," I replied, cringing. I couldn't express how grateful I was that I at least had enough sense to support my fall with my good hand… having the brace on for another week (or month) didn't sound pleasant at all. "My head just hurts. It's a lot to take in and I'm still kind of freaking out."

I was beyond the point of being shy around him.

And I was positive that I was still in shock.

It really couldn't get much worse.

.

.

.

Jared shifted uncomfortably, something that I didn't fail to notice.

I stared at him, earning a serious look in return.

"There's one more thing…"

* * *

Gravity.

Sun.

_Imprint._

The word itself made my whole head spin; how was this even possible? This really _was_ a lot more trouble than it was worth. My mind had barely wrapped itself around the existence of vampires and werewolves, and suddenly, the carpet was once again pulled from under me.

"When did you…" I struggled, feeling my face grow hot under his gaze. At least before when I was horribly ignorant, I only had to pretend that Jared was in love with me. And finding out that he actually was—well… "You know… uh, imprint."

"That night," he answered immediately, "in the woods."

Well, _that _was reassuring.

The ten years up until this point where I had been ridiculously in love with Jared wasn't created out of some fictitious magic. The gears in my mind clicked into place. Of course, that would explain Jared's sudden presence in my life and his persistence on being my friend.

"Will you please say something?" He laid his hand on mine. "What are you thinking?"

I stared at our touching hands.

Then realized he had asked me a question.

"Huh?"

"What do you…feel? About all of this?"

What _did_ I feel?

Overwhelmed.

I felt… overwhelmed.

And a multitude of things that would probably add onto his mental anguish.

Like disappointment.

.

.

.

"This imprint thing," I began slowly, wanting so badly to remove my hand from under his. It was harder to grasp onto everything I'd learned so far, but that searing heat and tingling sensation where his skin made contact with mine wasn't helping things. It made it even more difficult for me to think correctly. "Your… wolf, it recognizes me as its soulmate?"

"_Our_ soulmate."

Our. As in, the wolf. And Jared.

Right.

Remember to breathe.

"Kimberly?" he called out hesitantly. "Breathe, _please_."

Got it.

_Breathe._

I stared up at Jared, the boy whom I had been irrevocably in love with as long as I could remember. The boy who I had watched silently throughout middle school and high school; the Jared that had been with Aileen and countless others, girls who he had dated, kissed, _slept_ with… the very same boy who had been physically and mentally bounded to me with just one look. All because of old Quileute legends that transformed him and his "pack" into protectors.

I was disappointed that the only reason he had even noticed me in the first place was because of his wolf, and yet at the same time, I was elated because it had chosen me and _not_ Aileen Lim. And I was afraid, afraid because I've been so used to chasing him and now—now I didn't have to.

Not anymore.

Overwhelmed.

_I was definitely overwhelmed._

"God, this is just fantastic," I snapped, my voice cracking once again. As if to further add to my embarrassment, the tears that I had been attempting to hold back escaped freely down my cheeks without remorse. "This is… I'm crazy. Absolutely crazy."

"Kimberly?"

God! Even the way he said my _name_.

"Why do you call me that?" I cried out, more tears spilling.

"Jared?" Emily called from behind the door, obviously not feigning deaf ears to my hysterical crying. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." I heard a sharp intake of breath. "Give us a minute. Or thirty."

She stared at me in concern, but soon enough, the door shut softly behind her.

"Do you want me to call you something else?" Jared asked, moving closer to me. "I just—I didn't think it'd bother you. And I mostly use that name when I think about you… well, I don't _purposely_ think about you but I can't help it half of the time and the pack hears my thoughts whether I want them to or not and I just—" He exhaled through his nose. "What do you need? Did I do something? I'll call you Kim if that makes you happy, I _swear_ I will."

I felt stupid, utterly stupid.

Why was I even crying?

My tears had a mind of its own, and the more I thought about how intimate my real name sounded coming from his mouth—the more I cried. Jared had explained to me that seeing me cry – or in any type of pain – drove him and his wolf ballistic, but with my emotions so out of sorts and my mind in a frenzy, it was near impossible to control myself.

"Kim, _please_ stop crying," he pleaded, his hands twitching beside him, as if he wanted to hold me. "I can't… I can't just sit here while you—_please_, Kim."

"Sorry," I apologized in between my hiccuping. "It—I'm stupid."

"No, you're not," Jared said comfortingly, finally deciding to reach a hand out to remove my bangs out of my eyes. "You're perfect."

Oh God.

I couldn't help it—I burst into tears all over again.

"I've been in love with you since as long as I could remember," I stammered between my choking sobs, not caring that I probably looked gross with tears staining my face. "I watched you—watched you date other girls and I…I _hated_ it. Especially Aileen because you two looked so great wi – with each other." I sniffed, wiping my eyes though my vision continued to remain blurred. "Then you started to look at me – really _look_ at me and I was so happy. But then I found out it was all shit because it's because of this dumb… _magic_ from legends."

Jared made a move to speak but I held up a hand to stop him.

"And it's so pa – pathetic because I don't care if only your… wolf wants me, or that you wouldn't have looked at me if it hadn't been for mythical creatures and vampires." I took a shuddering breath, feeling myself finally beginning to calm down. "I'm insanely happy but I'm frustrated and disappointed. And at this point, I really don't care anymore because I finally, _finally_ get to have you."

The only noise after my humiliating confession were my sniffles of shame.

"…that's why you're crying?" he asked after a while, incredulous. "I thought I did something."

I bit my lip, finding some anger underneath my burning mortification to glare at him.

"I just _confessed_ to you," I snapped, roughly wiping my damp cheeks. "And you're worried that you did something wrong? God, this is embarrassing. Forget I said anything… or just erase the last ten minutes of my emotional breakdown."

The guy actually had the gall to smile at me!

"I already knew you liked me," he admitted, guilty.

My face grew hot.

"Thanks, I guess," I said sarcastically, "for making me look like a complete idiot."

"I wasn't sure though," he continued, pretending that I hadn't spoken. "The guys were convinced that you had that thing for Kenny, but I told them that you were doodling my name during Chemistry class for a reason."

If only there was a large rock I could crawl under.

"But hearing you actually say it…" Jared trailed off, our eyes meeting, sending a fluttery feeling through me. "It makes me happy. Fuck—_more_ than happy. I don't see anyone else… not anymore. Just you."

I couldn't help myself— I smiled.

I felt giddy and better than I had ever felt in my life... Quileute legends be damned.

_He _loved_ me._

Kimberly Conweller.

But there was something else I needed to make clear…

.

.

.

"Jared?" He looked at me, and it took everything I had not to reach out and grab him. "Will you promise that you won't… phase in front of me?" I looked down, remembering that enormous... thing. One of the few moments in my life that I had been genuinely afraid for my life. "I know it's a part of who you are and everything, but I've already fainted twice since I've met you and I really _really_ am not looking for a third time."

He laughed, grabbing my hand.

"I promise."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, I was curled up on the couch, my feet lightly brushing up against Jared's thighs as he absent-mindedly rubbed small circles on my skin. Although I was still coming to terms with the fact that I was – essentially – Jared's other half, it felt weird to suddenly allow him past that wall I had been holding up for so long. But with Jared's careful explanation about Imprints and how it worked, I felt that the least I could do was allow him this small contact to soothe his inner wolf.

At the moment, I felt disgusting with swollen eyes and red cheeks, but I felt perfectly content. Then suddenly, the events from earlier today flashed through my mind, causing me to jerk into a sitting position.

_How could I have _forgotten_?_

Selfish, _selfish_ Kim.

Harry Clearwater was admitted into the hospital, and here I was, forcing Jared to stay with me after Sam specifically instructed him to go chase after that vampire.

"Jeez Kim, you scared the crap out of me." When he didn't earn so much as a smile from me, Jared stopped caressing my skin and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"You shouldn't be here," I said, mentally groaning at my own stupidity. "Weren't you supposed to be patrolling? With Jake?"

"Embry filled in for me," he answered, confused. "He understood that this was more important."

"The vampire?" I pressed.

"Got away." A deep growl emitted from within his chest. "Fucking tricky bloodsucker."

_She was still out there?_ Jared squeezed my foot reassuringly.

"You don't have to worry about a damn thing," he said confidently. "She's not getting anywhere near you ever again."

"And Harry?" I asked finally, dreading the answer though I somehow already knew.

He sighed, pulling my feet into his lap, then laid his arms on them.

"Dead."

.

.

.

There was nothing that could have prepared me for that gut-wrenching feeling.

And then I had to ask…

"Seth? Leah?"

"They're okay," Emily interrupted, a pair of jeans hanging off her arm. "Or at least, they will be." She gave me a sad smile. "Kim, your parents called – they were looking for you."

My parents.

_I had totally forgotten about them._

"What time is it?"

"A quarter until ten," she answered, swatting Jared's hands away as she moved to inspect my bandages. "I told them I'd have you home before then."

"I'll walk you," Jared offered, though I could feel his body freeze up from under me.

"Thanks," I said, eyeing him carefully. I winced when Emily pressed down a bit too hard, causing Jared to shake. I was confused for a moment, then I remembered; injured Kim means unstable Jared. "I'm _fine_, really."

I heard him take a deep breath.

That was definitely going to take some time getting used to.

Feeling a bit awkward with Emily's soft humming and Jared's attempt at remaining indifferent, I felt the need to make conversation.

"You know," I started casually, "I think I've injured myself enough for the rest of the—"

"You can't," Jared interrupted, his eyes glued to my bandages.

I glanced at Emily, confused.

She had stopped her inspection, choosing to stare up at Jared, her brow raised.

"What?"

"You," he struggled with his words, his eyes hardening the longer he looked at me. "You can't go home."

"What do you mean I can't go home?" I asked warily.

What had him so on edge?

He had been fine just a moment ago.

.

.

.

"_I can't let you go home."_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Poor Kim— even _I_ was convinced that she was crazy. She's a trooper. It was an emotional roller coaster... this chapter. I'm surprised that I managed to write two chapters in such a short time; if only I could do this on a regular basis.

Thank you, of course, for reading!


	13. A Feeling

**Phases**  
Chapter Thirteen

* * *

"Can't or won't?" I asked skeptically, keeping a careful eye on his hands that were already clenching themselves into fists. Jared had made me promise that I'd run if he ever came too close to phasing. "My parents are waiting, I have a bunch of homework due Monday, and it's getting la—"

"_No."_

"Jared," Emily began, only to become the receiving end of a cold glare. "Kim needs to go home. You should know as well as I do that the red-headed vampire isn't after her; she'll be safe and you can keep an eye on her whenever you're not patrolling."

"I know the leech isn't after her," Jared said, gritting his teeth. By now, the vibrations that were shaking his body were increasing in intervals. "But I'm not risking it. Not now."

If that woman wasn't after me, then who…

"Who is she after?" I asked, breaking the intense staring contest between Jared and Emily. "And why would she be in La Push?"

It never occurred to me that the "leech" would be after something… or rather, someone. I knew of Jared's friends, all of whom were friendly for the most part with the exception of Paul, who was infamous for his nasty temper. It was something I had – unfortunately - witnessed on multiple occasions whenever a kid or two looked at him the wrong way or even dared breathe the same air as him. But they were all outgoing and friendly guys, so what could they have possibly done to make the vampire so angry?

When no one answered me, I decided to ask again. "Did you guys do something?"

Jared scoffed. "As if. This is all Jake's fault."

"You know that's not true," Emily said, frowning. "I'm sure Bella never meant for any of this to happen."

Bella Swan?

Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Right," Jared said sarcastically, "so she was _forced_ to get into a relationship with a leech."

"Jared," Emily said, narrowing her eyes. "The Cullens—"

"Dr. Cullen is a vampire?" I blinked, incredulous. Of course that would make sense! Jared had gone all but crazy when I mentioned having seen Dr. Cullen about my wrist. And since shape-shifters and vampires are natural enemies… well, it wasn't hard to come to a conclusion after that. And Bella was dating Dr. Cullen? Wasn't he old? Gross. "She's in a relationship with him?"

Emily laughed, covering her mouth.

"No," Jared sighed, amusement flickering in his eyes. "She's dating his _son_." He rolled his eyes. "From what I've seen in Jake's mind, Bella's blood _sings_ to him."

When I didn't so much as blink, Jared laughed, resuming his stroking – signaling that he had finally calmed down. "Not literally _sing_, Kim. Her blood appeals to him. Long story short, some other vampire liked Bella's blood so they killed that guy and now his mate is after her. Mate for mate."

"Right," I said slowly. "And if her blood uh, _sang_, to Dr. Cullen's son… the first thing she thought to do was _date_ him?"

My first instinct would have been to move out of the freaking country… but to each their own, I guess.

"Love is love," Emily chimed in, winking.

"Uh huh," Jared replied, though he rolled his eyes. Again. "I bet she's only dating him because he looks like he walked off a fucking runway."

"Is he really that hot?" I blurted out without thinking.

A warning growl emitted from Jared's chest, startling me.

"I was just asking," I mumbled, looking over at Emily who mouthed "boys" with a shake of her head. "I think it's a bit shallow if she disregarded her life because of his looks. I would never…" I stopped, realizing that the only reason I had liked Jared initially was because I thought he was the epitome of beautiful. I then promptly kept my mouth shut, fiddling with the brace clamped onto my wrist though I could feel Jared's gaze on me.

It didn't take a genius to know that he was smiling.

"Never what?"

"What?" I could feel myself starting to blush. "Hey Emily, do you know how to tighten this? It's coming loose…"

"Don't change the subject," Jared interrupted, giving me a light nudge on the leg. Looking over at the spot where Emily was previously sitting, I noticed she was gone. Most likely to give us some privacy. Fantastic. "You thought I was smoking _hot_."

"I did not," I said defensively, seeing his knowing gaze. I pretended to pick at lint on my shirt as he waited patiently for me to speak. "I just… I thought you were, um, _cool_."

"Cool," he repeated, giving me a knowing look. "Really, now."

"Yes, really," I replied – a little too – quickly, shaking his hand off my foot out of embarrassment. "It's not like it mattered anyway. I was pretty much non-existent to you through all of middle school and high school..."

I stopped, realizing that Jared wasn't smiling anymore.

"Which isn't a bad thing," I added, clearing my throat. "Not a lot of people noticed me." Which wasn't a complete lie, of course. Though I hadn't been part of the "popular" crowd, I still knew a lot of people. More than a lot, actually. I just chose to spend all of my free time with Kenny. And since half of the student body made it a habit to ignore Kenny and his… exuberance, I was – sometimes – ignored along with him. "So don't feel bad."

"I really am sorry," Jared apologized, frowning. Then he looked at me and attempted a smile. "But at least I'm here now, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed, sending him my own smile in return. It was still hard to imagine that Jared was – in a sense – mine. Though I knew it wasn't likely, I was afraid that once I got home and went to sleep, I'd wake up and everything that happened would be one huge dream and I'd go back to being "Kimsey" again.

Crap.

Home… my _parents_!

"I need to go home."

Jared froze.

Apparently he had forgotten about that part.

"You can't," he said suddenly, grabbing my hand when I moved to get off the couch. "Just stay here for the night. If not with me, then with Emily."

"Are you nuts?" I asked, doing my best not to blush. "My parents have a strict rule about sleepovers. And… and I have homework. That's at home."

"I can run over there really quick and get it," Jared offered, tightening his hold on me. It wasn't painful, just tight enough so that I wouldn't be able to break his grip even if I tried. "Just… just stay."

"Is it the Imprint?" I asked hesitantly. Jared had only mentioned that my physical and mental pains would affect him, as well as needing some sort of physical contact with me. The distance wouldn't have been a problem, he had said, as long as we never went more than twenty-four hours of seeing each other. That had been the limit that Sam had experienced before the wolf began to react towards the absence…

"Yes," Jared answered, then, "no… I don't know. It's—it's stupid."

My confusion must have been evident because he sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Shit," he cursed, suddenly finding the wall extremely interesting. His grip on my hand had loosened, though now he was absent-mindedly running his fingers over mine. "It's just… horrible timing. Or perfect timing." He sighed again. "At first the only thing I had to worry about was that Kenny kid making the moves on you while I was away, but with that bloodsucker here, it just… you can't die. Not now. Especially when you've accepted the Imprint and I finally get to be with you."

"Hey," I said, shrugging. "If it's my time to go, it's my time to go. You can't always prevent things like that from happening."

I was hoping that my words would be a means of comfort, but evidently, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Kim, you don't understand," Jared snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You _can't _die – _I'll_ die. And I'm not saying this because our lives are linked or some shit like that, it's because I am not fucking living the rest of my life _without_ you."

"You could try," I suggested, feeling like I was treading on dangerous waters. The Imprint was still a foreign subject to me; were our lives so intertwined that the end of my life would end his? How did it even work? Jared had said that he would be affected by our bond but did that also apply to me, too? "Right?"

"Even imagining it makes me want to break something."

Okay, guess not.

"I'll come back," I said, mustering up the courage to grab his hands into mine. "One day isn't going to hurt… and I'll see you at school. Besides, you said so yourself that the vampire is after Bella Swan. And unless my blood sings to some strange creature, my life isn't going to end anytime soon."

"God, that would fucking suck if your blood appealed to one of those leeches."

"That'd be horrible," I agreed. "But you can trust me not to jump into a relationship with them."

"Ugh," Jared blanched, shaking his head. "I'd never let you anywhere near a leech if I can help it. Besides, like hell would I let another guy snatch you away, leech or not."

That reminded me… "Why do you keep mentioning Kenny?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… you keep mentioning how he has feelings for me," I said, already feeling uncomfortable.

"Because he does," Jared said easily, snorting. "Anyone can tell."

_Except me._

"How?"

"It's a guy thing," he said, looking at me with a raised brow. "Why?"

"Just curious…" That couldn't be right. I've always been good at locating little signs when it came to someone's feelings for me. But I had been wrong about Jared, so maybe I was wrong about Kenny too? But we'd been best friends for so long, wouldn't I have noticed by now? Maybe this whole time I had mistaken his anger towards Jared as him being protective. Had Kenny been… jealous? "Hm."

"That kid can go to hell for all I care," Jared said, crossing his arms.

"He's my best friend," I said defensively.

"Which is why I've left him alone," he replied, frowning. "But if there's anything I'm thankful for, it's him not trying anything on you."

"Kenny is a gentleman," I commented lightly. "And even if he had tried anything, it wasn't likely that I was going to let him." Especially when my feelings were still so strongly focused on the boy before me.

Jared made a sound in the back of his throat, though I could tell he was contemplating something in his head by the way he started stroking the back of my hand. "Would you have let me?" he asked eventually.

It was hard to find my voice, especially when my heart seemed to be beating erratically in my chest. If Jared could hear it, he was polite enough not to say anything.

"I… what?"

"Would you have let me," Jared repeated, his eyes boring into mine, "if I had… tried anything."

_Would I?_

Yes… yes, I would.

My mind had gone completely blank at this point, save for that little part in the back of my mind that noticed that Jared was leaning in. I was going to hyperventilate again, I just knew it. My breaths were coming out in short, breathy gasps and my face felt like it was burning the closer Jared's face got to mine. I don't know when it happened, but I was leaning in to meet him halfway, feeling his breath mingle in with mine.

I closed my eyes, and then—

_BAM._

I jumped back, startled.

"Fuck," Jared muttered, turning around to see Paul, Sam, and Embry in the living room. I could easily spot Paul by the lamp, biting his lip in restrained laughter, knowing exactly what they had interrupted. After seeing Sam's apologetic gaze, I gazed down at my lap, completely mortified.

"You're back, already?" Emily asked, making her way downstairs. "How's Sue? Leah? Seth?"

"Fine," Sam said gruffly, making his way towards her to lay a kiss on her lips. "They're all a bit shaken, but good."

Watching them made me uncomfortable, partly because Jared and I had been close to doing the same thing just minutes earlier. I cleared my throat, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "I… can I go home now?" I asked, though it came out in a squeak, furthering my embarrassment.

"I'll walk you," Jared said, still tense from having been interrupted.

"Of course you will," Paul snickered, earning a glare.

"Fuck off."

"Here, let me get your jeans," Emily said, then added, "you should stop by tomorrow. Maybe you can do your homework here?"

"Sure," I replied, still refusing to make eye-contact with anyone in the room. God, this was horrible. "My parents…?"

"I called them earlier to let you know we'd have you home soon." Emily smiled.

She was a life-saver.

"Here you go," she said, handing me my jeans. I stood up, grabbed them from her and turned around, facing Jared. I took a deep breath and looked up at him, though I was too embarrassed to keep the eye-contact for too long.

"Ready?" he asked, taking my jeans and folding it over his arm despite my protest.

.

.

.

"Yeah."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, no line-break in this chapter. I'm writing this at four in the morning, so hopefully things don't seem OOC... I'm positive that I made some spelling/grammar errors. I shall be back to edit once I've gotten some sleep. I'm starting school again on Monday, but I'll do my best to update quickly!

Comments/opinions are always appreciated! You all are awesome.


	14. Broken

**Phases **  
Chapter Fourteen

* * *

The short journey back to my house was silent save for the sound of the wind rushing past my ear and Jared's light breathing as he carried me in his arms. He had refused to take Jake's car, saying that it didn't allow enough room for him to phase on the spot if I was trapped in there with him. Of course, I didn't think of arguing… I was tired and – slightly – embarrassed that everyone had seen my almost-first-kiss with Jared.

I knew we were close when Jared began slowing down, gently releasing me from his arms so I could walk alongside him. I made it a point to not look at him, afraid that my imagination would dive into a whirl again. I was half-convinced that any second now he would grab me by my arms and lay one on me. It really was a good thing the Imprint didn't allow him to read my mind… I'm sure I would live the rest of my life the color of ripe tomatoes.

"You're coming for sure tomorrow?" Jared suddenly asked.

Startled by his voice, it took me a while to answer.

"I guess so," I said slowly, shivering when a particularly cold gust of wind hit me.

Before I realized it, Jared had wrapped his large arm around me, pulling me into his side. Surprised, I let out a small 'eep!' that made him laugh, and then he began to rub my arm to warm them up. I closed my eyes momentarily to bask in the comforting embrace and the heat that was beginning to get rid of the numbness from the chilly air.

"Thanks," I eventually said, though it came out mumbled. My face was red again.

"Anything for you," he said, though it came out as a laugh when my eyes widened. "Jeez Kim, you turn red so easily."

"Not my fault," I said, trying to fight off the smile that was forming on my lips. "You can't just… say stuff like that and expect me not to blush."

"What stuff?"

"You know," I replied, dragging out my words… as if it would help him understand. Jared raised a brow, giving me an amused look. Ugh. "Like… cute stuff, I guess. But not cute. Because it's not like I find you cute – or anything." I let out a frustrated breath. "I don't know. It's hard to explain."

Jared burst out into laughter, swooping down to lay a kiss on my lips, completely catching me by surprise.

"Well, _I_ think you're cute," he chuckled, smiling. "Adorable, even."

My mind was still reeling.

_Jared kissed me._

Oh God, I could definitely die happy.

Best kiss of my life… well, I don't have anyone else to compare it to but I'm pretty certain that if it had been anyone else, what I felt wouldn't have come close to what I was feeling at this moment. And sure, it was pretty quick and I was okay with that because if he had wanted to take it further, I had zero experience so he – definitely - saved me from utter humiliation. And—

"Kim?"

I snapped out of my daze.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" he asked warily, bringing attention to the fact that we were standing right in front of my house. "You spaced out."

The butterflies that were raging inside my stomach stopped.

_Did he not feel the same way that I did about the kiss?_

"I…" I frowned, already feeling ridiculous for making a big deal over nothing. "Never mind."

For some reason I had the urge to cry.

"_Kim."_

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms, glancing everywhere else but him. "You kissed me."

"You don't want that?" he asked, hurt.

"No! I do!" I bit my lip, taking a deep breath. "It was just my first and it was kind of, I don't know, special. And you don't seem to be affected but I guess Aileen or whatever might have been better but I—"

Before I could continue my useless rant, Jared had pressed his lips against mine, cradling my face with his hands. If my mind hadn't turned to complete mush, I might have been horrified by the way I had clung onto him, pulling him closer to me as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I admit I had no clue as to what I was doing, especially when he began to coax my mouth open, slipping his tongue inside and thoroughly freaking me out to the point where I immediately squeaked. Jared released me, though not before pecking me once more on my lips, deepening the blush that was already staining my cheeks.

"Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I know I shouldn't get so… you know, knowing that I'm your first." Jared laughed. "God, this is fucking awesome."

For some reason, I had a feeling Jared was happy that it wasn't just a kiss that he'd be letting me experience for the first time. At that thought alone, I felt myself get lightheaded. The things that he did to me…

"Was it too much?" Worry laced his voice. "I know I shouldn't have been so forward but I couldn't help it. I'm really sorry, Kim. If you don't like it, I don't mind—"

"I like it," I said quickly, becoming embarrassed at how fast I was to answer. "I've just… sorry, for freaking out on you." I coughed, playing with the hem of my shirt. "I should probably go inside."

As if on cue, my porch light turned on, a shadow looming behind the window.

Most likely my dad.

I rolled my eyes.

"Good night," Jared said softly, kissing my lightly on the forehead before sending me a smile that warmed my whole body.

"Night," I replied, giving him a small wave.

He watched me until I closed the door, the only indication to his departure being the howl I heard through the trees.

* * *

When I woke up that next morning, I was expecting sunlight and birds chirping to welcome me into the new day. Kenny sitting at the edge of my bed? Not so much. Sure he would let himself in most days, but I had expected the silent treatment for at least another week. Or month. He really _was_ unpredictable when it came to his "moods."

And judging by his facial expression, Kenny hadn't noticed me waking up, so if I could just close my eyes and—

"I know you're awake," he said, flipping a page in his book.

Darn.

"Aren't you mad at me?" I asked, throwing my blanket off of me and sitting up. "My parents?"

"Yes and they left about twenty minutes ago," Kenny replied, dog-earing the page he was on and closing the book.

"Oh."

"So I went to your house yesterday," he said, eyeing me. "You were gone."

"I had a… um, date," I answered, feeling uncomfortable. Maybe Jared was wrong about Kenny and his feelings. "I was going to tell you but you were… angry."

"I probably wouldn't have listened, anyway."

It was silent.

"Why are you here if you're still mad at me?"

"You know," Kenny began, ignoring me as he glared at my lamp. "I was pretty worried last night. Your parents called me, asking where you were. And it's funny, because for the first time in _forever_, I didn't know where my best friend was." He frowned. "I don't know what it is, Kim, but I don't like how things have changed between us."

"We're still best frie—"

"No, I don't think we are," he interrupted, still not looking at me. "We've rarely ever fought but every single time you would call and ask if I was okay. Or show up spontaneously at my house with some lame movie or just—_something_. And usually friends listen to each other when they say certain people are no good."

"Hey," I said, angry. "That's not fair to Jared. You haven't even _met_ him."

"So he suddenly woke up one day and saw the light?" Kenny said mockingly, finally meeting my eyes. I had never seen him so angry… especially at me. But this wasn't fair, not to Jared, and definitely to me. "I don't need to know him to tell that he completely warped my best friend into someone I can barely recognize."

"I'm still—"

"Instead of telling your parents or even me about where you were," he continued, "you just thought to show up in the middle of the night after kissing that guy in front of your house."

I felt myself freeze.

"You saw?"

"I was worried about you, Kim." He snorted. "I was heading off to Jared's to see if you were there. But you seemed perfectly fine to me. _Fantastic_."

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Maybe Jared was right," I snapped, "maybe you're in love with me. That doesn't give you the right to act like a complete… _ass_ just because you can't handle seeing me with someone else."

Kenny didn't answer, but I felt regret the moment I said that to him.

"Kenny, I—"

"You're right," he said, picking up his backpack that I hadn't noticed earlier. "I do like you—love you. Because you're my best friend and you managed to make me lose in dodgeball for the very first time. You keep your promises and you made high school bearable for me. Fun." Kenny looked at me, his face void of emotion. "But you're wrong about one thing. I'm _not_ jealous. I told myself if there was a chance you couldn't return my feelings, I would let you be happy with anyone you chose."

"Jared—"

"But _not_ him," Kenny said, moving to stand in front of me. "I'm sure he's a good guy, Kimsey, but _anyone _but him."

"Don't make me choose," I said quietly, watching as he opened my door to leave.

"I never asked you to."

.

.

.

Kenny closed the door behind him, his footsteps echoing throughout the hallway until I heard the front door open and slam shut.

And then I cried.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Not much to say except... I AM SO SORRY! I have a full schedule and the workload isn't much better. Kenny is being unreasonable and annoying, I know. Thank you for being patient with me and I apologize for the extremely short chapter :c


	15. Comforting Kim

**Phases**  
Chapter Fifteen

* * *

The last time that I cried, _really _cried, was back in the third grade when I was written up for the first time because I pulled Samantha Thompson's hair after she made a nasty comment about my clothes. Of course back then the only thing that pushed me to tears was the knowledge that my spotless record was now tainted with what I'd done out of pure anger. This time around, I lost something more important than just a permanent mark on my record - my best friend. I mean, Kenny and I argued in the past but we would forgive each other after a couple of days of the infamous silent treatment.

But he no longer wanted anything to do with me and it was - _is _- all of my fault.

And it's so much worse when you're the reason why things turn out the way they do.

.

.

.

.

It was getting difficult to breathe when these gut-wrenching sobs seemed to come one after the other. After Kenny left I just broke down right in the middle of my room, knowing that running after him was useless because there was nothing left I could say that would fix our friendship. I was grateful that my parents weren't home; if I had been in my right mind I would have been mortified at the noise that was coming from my mouth and how pathetic I was, crying out until my throat was sore for someone who obviously didn't want me in their life anymore.

I should have attempted to pull myself together, especially after Jared forced himself into my room five minutes later, but my heart hurt too much to care at that point.

There was a familiar tingle in my stomach before warm arms enveloped me into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay," Jared whispered, pulling my head against his chest. "It's fine."

Seeing Jared so suddenly after my argument with Kenny only seemed to fuel the self-loathing I had for myself. It made the end of my friendship seem more _real _and I wanted nothing more in the world at that moment than to push him away and force his arms off of me. Did Kenny's friendship mean so little to me that I was willing to throw away years of memories over a boy? I hated myself, but more than that, I wanted to hate Jared. I wanted to scream at him and blame him for existing, for coming into my life and being someone I would willingly drop everything to be with.

I was pathetic and most of all, selfish.

But a part of me knew that I was just being unreasonable and immature. Because deep down, if I had the choice to start over and do things differently... I wouldn't.

So I fisted my hands into his shirt and pulled myself closer into his arms.

* * *

My sobs - and overall - crying eventually died down, but there were the occasional hiccups that would slip every now and then. My eyes were swollen and my heart hurt and frankly, I was just tired. Jared had moved us towards the back of my bed where he could lean against my headboard, holding me while I laid comfortably in his lap with his arms held tight around me. I was sweating from the heat emitting from his entire body but it felt like his arms were the only thing keeping me together at this point.

I let out a shuddering sigh while my eyes slowly closed, readying for a nap.

Jared, however, seemed to have another plan in mind.

I felt rather than heard when he took a deep breath, swallowing before he spoke.

"Kim," he said gently, "what happened?"

Despite his efforts to remain calm, the anger was evident in his voice and the way his body tensed beneath me. And just like that, I realized that finally putting an end to my sobbing was the least of my problems. Jared had probably felt my distress and ran over here as soon as he could... and judging by the way he was reacting, he wasn't going to believe any half-arsed excuse that I came up with.

I couldn't deal with this right now.

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped, immediately regretting how rude I was being. I sighed. "Sorry... I just—I'm exhausted."

Any hope I had towards dropping the subject was crushed as soon as he shifted my body to face him fully. Panicking, I - rather pathetically - scrambled out of his arms as a last-ditch-attempt but before I could put a considerable amount of distance between us, Jared managed to pull me back and lock me once more in his arms. If it were under any other circumstance, I would have felt embarrassed with how close his face was to mine, but I was slowly becoming annoyed at how pushy he was being.

Not to mention the look in his eyes signaled that he was anything _but_ happy.

"You need to talk to me Kim."

I felt a flash of anger - feeling defiant.

"What I _need_ is for you to understand that I don't want to talk about anything with _you_," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. If he flinched I didn't notice, but his grip on me loosened a bit. And before I could stop the words, I muttered—"It'd make me... _so_ happy if you left me alone."

_Anything I wanted, right?_

It was a low-blow and we both knew it.

But his reaction wasn't what I had expected.

"That's _not _how it works, Kim," Jared all but hissed out at me, grabbing my chin so I had no choice but to look at him. "I know what will make you happy and pretending that nothing is wrong _isn't _it." His eyes softened. "You can't just order me around with a snap of your fingers - I'm yours. And if being a shoulder to cry on is what you need, then I'll be that for you."

I suddenly felt like a child with how I was behaving.

This wasn't his fault.

Of course it wasn't.

_It was mine._

_.  
_

_.  
_

Jared studied my expression for a few more moments before he released his grip on my chin, though not without laying a soft kiss on my forehead which left a fluttering feeling that I felt all the way down to my toes. At least I was sure that he wasn't semi-angry anymore. He shifted into a comfortable position before he lightly jostled me, prompting me to start.

But the problem was, I didn't know _where_ to.

"Kenny..." he finally spoke, hoping that it'd give me the push I needed.

My eyes widened in surprise.

"How'd you...?"

Jared let out a light chuckle, tapping his nose.

"I... memorized it," he answered, looking guilty but more adorable than anything. "Just in case."

He was so ridiculous, sometimes.

I rolled my eyes and settled myself against him, feeling slightly better than I had before.

"Right... Kenny." I sighed, grabbing Jared's hand to ease the sudden nervousness I felt. "It's better if I start from the very beginning..."

"We have time," Jared said simply.

Feeling somewhat comforted, I closed my eyes and recalled the moment where everything first started.

"Well, we met in middle school during PE..."

* * *

During the duration of my story-telling, Jared remained attentive and silent save for the few times where he'd interrupt me for clarification and more details. Retelling the friendship between Kenny and I over the years, I hadn't realized how NOT brotherly his actions were until Jared made a snide reply which often left me thinking. He hadn't taken the story well when I reached the part in our early(ish) teen years where slumber parties were a frequent thing every weekend - shared beds and all.

It had gotten difficult when I told Jared about the events following his entrance in my life, and I could see that he was struggling with the fact that he believed it really _was_ his fault. But it wasn't. And as much as I'd like to remind him that Kenny's pain were due to my own choices, I knew he would have hurt himself before he ever pointed the finger at me.

"And... that's it," I finished lamely, picking at his shirt.

"Hm."

For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

I glared at him, earning a laugh.

"Okay, okay," he said, grabbing a lock of my hair. "Go ahead."

It wasn't any of my business, but I felt the need to ask anyway.

"Why does Kenny hate you?"

Jared's hand froze for a second before he resumed twirling a strand.

"You don't have to tell me," I assured him quickly, noticing the frown on his face. "I understand it's probably better if you talk to Kenn—"

"That's not it," Jared mumbled, untangling his hands. He didn't meet my eyes. "I just... I don't want you to hate me, Kim."

I would never hate him.

I mean, I _could _but... I wouldn't want to.

.

"I'm sorry that I asked—"

"No," he interrupted quickly, rubbing his temples. "You see, it was two years ago—"

Before he could continue, a group of howls echoed from outside.

Jared immediately shut up, craning his neck to listen more carefully before his whole body tensed up and began to tremble. I instantly untangled myself from his arms and headed towards the corner of my room, remembering what he told me about creating space between us whenever he reacted this way.

Fear shot through me when I realized that Victoria must have been nearby.

Suddenly I was hoisted into his arms and out the window before I could fully register what was going on, the cold air sending a shiver throughout my body. Jared didn't slow down in his running, making it rather difficult for me to get more comfortable. But my position in his arms was the least of my problems, because after a few minutes we arrived at Emily's home—

.

.

.

.

... coming face-to-face with the pack who all had grim expressions on their faces.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For some reason I hate updating on a week day but I figured you all waited long enough for an update and _hello, it's summer_ so I didn't see the harm in that. As always, thank you for being so patient and kind in your reviews! If all goes to plan, I'm estimating about five (_or less_) chapters until Phases will come to an end...

Of course this story was originally supposed to be only_ fifteen_ chapters so - you know. It may take more than five to wrap everything up. But five is my goal!


	16. Waiting Game

**Phases**  
Chapter Sixteen

* * *

It's strange to say this, but I've learned how to discern how serious a situation is based on how protective Jared becomes… or is. And the fact that his arm refused to relinquish its hold on my waist despite being surrounded by the rest of the pack spoke volumes.

And to be honest, I was a little afraid.

I could instantly tell something was wrong; _what _was wrong, was the question.

No words were exchanged between Sam and Jared—only looks.

One of the downsides to being an Imprint, was the fact that no matter how much you wanted to pry, it was near impossible to know the full details of what exactly was going on… unless you were Emily, of course. Being the Imprint to the Alpha had its perks. However, my knowledge of Victoria and the vampire threat seemed to extend far beyond what Jared wanted me to know, and even discovering that much was dangerous in itself. He never explained why, but I had a feeling he believed I would somehow get involved and play the savior.

It was ridiculous, the things that he imagined I would do to put myself in danger.

My life was precious to me, too… like hell I would ever go one-on-one with a vampire.

_Just thinking about it made me cringe._

.

.

.

A growl from Jared's chest interrupted my train of thought.

"No," he snapped, pulling me closer.

"Jared," Sam started slowly, making sure to keep his distance. "You know you—"

"I said," Jared repeated - bitingly. "No."

"Jared… come on, man—" Quil attempted to reason, though he was immediately growled at by Jared, who pushed me behind him.

For a moment, I believed that Sam Uley wanted to use me as bait. Which wasn't a completely plausible idea, but it was hard to put two-and-two together when everyone preferred to stare at one another instead of having a conversation. The thought of potentially being put in danger made my skin crawl, causing my body to become rigid with a sense of fear. Jared noticed immediately, quickly turning around to cradle my face in his hands—instantly forgetting his anger.

"Kimberly?" he asked quickly, a look of panic beginning to form in his eyes. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No," I forcibly gasped out, trying to get my breathing under control. "I don't want to be bait… I'm not all that appealing. Does Sam know that?"

"Wha—No! It's not that," Jared reassured me, letting out a slight laugh.

I heard an amused snort somewhere behind him.

"So, no bait?"

"Fuck no," he growled, brushing the hair out of my face. "It's just… I have to patrol." He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. "Sam wants Quil to keep watch along with Seth and Leah. But I just—I don't trust them."

Seth and Leah?

I vaguely remember the two being mentioned when Harry had his heart attack.

I glanced over, spotting a young boy and an older woman who looked to be about Emily's age. They looked uncomfortable and a little out of place compared to the rest of them. Whereas Paul, Quil, Sam, and everyone else was bulky - these two fell more on the scrawny size.

But more than anything, they both lacked the confidence that I witnessed in Jared—

Looking more terrified than anything.

"I'll be okay," I said finally, smiling despite the nerves I felt earlier. "Quil knows what he's doing."

_Hopefully Seth and Leah knew, too._

But Quil, he seemed reliable.

"Damn right I do," a voice called out, causing the rest of them to chuckle.

.

.

There was also something that was lingering in the air, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I could tell that Jared wanted to tell me something with the way he kept mindlessly touching my hair and the way his eyes would meet mine, only to look somewhere else. The pack dynamic felt… off and somewhat forced in a way, but I told myself I was merely imagining it.

All I needed to do right now was to stay calm and strong for Jared—

Because right now, I was afraid… _petrified_.

And he wouldn't be able to patrol properly if he could feel it… so I needed to be strong.

For the both of us.

* * *

"Does it get any better?" I said, tracing the patterns on the kitchen counter. "This… unsettling feeling."

"Sometimes," Emily said, separating the cookie batter into small chunks onto the tray. "You'd think after a year or so the nerves would go away, but the feeling of dread is fresh. Sometimes even worse than the day before." She paused for a moment. "You just have to find ways to keep yourself busy."

_That would explain the baking..._

Despite her calm demeanor, anyone could tell from a five-foot radius that Emily's hands were constantly moving for a reason.

Because although her body may not have trembled, her hands definitely did.

It was oddly comforting, knowing that I wasn't alone.

"I know I'm supposed to hear everything from Jared, but seeing as he won't tell me…" I trailed off, thinking of a way to word the question. "But did something happen? It's okay if it's vague but I would rather know something than wait in this house completely confused."

Emily remained silent for a moment.

"I know how difficult it is to be kept in the dark," she started slowly, keeping her eyes on the tray of cookie dough as she worked. "Sam was determined to keep me ignorant, but after all of this—" she gestured to her face, "It was pretty much agreed that there would be no secrets."

Sam… had done that to her?

My face must have shown the shock I felt, because Emily was quick to assure me that everything was fine.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Emily said quickly. "It's just… if I had known I would've been more careful, you know?"

There was a low growl outside that startled me.

Emily quickly cleared her throat.

"Anyways, I figured as Imprints we need to stick together," she continued, shooting me an encouraging smile. "But before you arrived, Sam was telling me about Victoria…" Emily paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "They found her on the Reservation."

"Was anyone hur—"

"Thankfully," Emily interrupted, "they managed to chase her off before she could do more damage. Jared wanted to stay here to watch over you, however, Sam needed him because he's the only one in the group with the best eyesight."

I let the information sink in.

Wait a minute—

One person was missing earlier.

"Wait, then where's Jake?"

"He's with Bella," Emily replied rather reluctantly. "Well, more like he's patrolling _around_ her."

"And Victoria is after her?" I asked, more so to myself - though Emily nodded anyway.

Whether or not it was justified—

I was angry.

_Furious._

And suddenly a tidal wave of emotions hit me, forcing me to realize that Jared - _my Jared_ - was put into danger along with the rest of the pack because of some sick love-triangle.

How selfish was she to just stay here in Washington?

Did she not realize how many lives she was endange—

"Jake's in love with her," Emily stated, momentarily quelling my rage. "And as a pack, all we can do is support him… however—"

"_Stupid."_

"... it may seem."

.

.

.

Not yet satisfied with the end of the conversation, I muttered, "Life is unfair."

Emily laughed.

"You can definitely say_ that_ again."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I... have no excuse. Except it feels good to write again! The quarter system made me into a zombie... but nonetheless, happy holidays! Slowly updating my stories one at a time so if you follow me, be prepared for updates : ) Thank you guys for sticking by me! It means a lot.


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